The UK is on a path towards net zero by 2050. Central to that journey is the decarbonisation of road transport. Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) comprise 16% of road transport greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so to meet this goal, the UK’s HGVs must undergo a substantial transformation.
Hydrogen is the energy source primed to fuel that transformation. Though there has been unprecedented success in decarbonising car travel with electric vehicles (EVs), batteries pose a problem for vehicles that need to carry larger payloads over longer distances. In short, they are too heavy and lack the range that larger vehicles need. Hydrogen, however, is energy-dense by weight, meaning it can provide a greater range while preserving payloads, making it well-suited for HGV applications.
The major fallout from a piecemeal approach to development is a lack of market confidence. And this is something that the UK cannot risk
The UK’s HGV decarbonisation mandate requires the sale of all new, non-zero-emission HGVs to cease by 2035 for those under 26t and by 2040 for those over 26t. So far, progress is modest, yet respectable and well-intentioned. According to the Road Haulage Association’s (RHA’s) net zero survey, 14% of 25–99 vehicle fleets and 22% of 100+ vehicle fleets plan to introduce hydrogen HGVs over the next five years.
However, a coordination problem could get in the way, inhibiting the UK’s ability to decarbonise and stifling growth for a nascent yet transformative application—and industry. Success depends on vehicles and infrastructure being planned in a coordinated way. What is needed is joined-up thinking throughout the value chain and a push against a piecemeal approach to development.
The pitfalls of the piecemeal approach
Why do I warn against the piecemeal approach? Because of the challenges it creates and the risks it presents. For example, much like the early days of electric vehicle adoption, without coordinating infrastructure and vehicle rollout, both freight and infrastructure operators will come up against a familiar chicken-and-egg problem. Fleet managers find it hard to justify adopting hydrogen HGVs without the refuelling stations, while investors fail to see the potential in refuelling stations without fleets looking to use them.
Getting refuelling infrastructure wrong, or planning it much later than vehicle adoption, can lead to vehicles becoming temporarily unusable. There have been notable cases of hydrogen fleets, like buses, having to be mothballed because refuelling stations or hydrogen fuel itself became unavailable. This leaves fleet managers with an inoperable fleet, jeopardising the business case for more hydrogen adoption because those vehicles are no longer generating revenue.
The major fallout from a piecemeal approach to development is a lack of market confidence. And this is something that the UK cannot risk, especially in the early stages of hydrogen freight growth. The Hydrogen Energy Association (HEA), in partnership with the RHA and the Construction Plant-hire Association, has recently highlighted the infrastructure gap between the UK and Europe. It has called for a national roadmap for hydrogen fuel and refuelling infrastructure to provide market certainty and attract private investment. As an executive of the HEA, I believe a piecemeal approach to development would undermine these efforts and go against any successful potential roadmap.
Ultimately, none of these issues are technological. They are simply planning ‘failures’ that we can avoid through co-evolution.
Calling for coordination
Co-evolving hydrogen infrastructure entails moving the whole value chain forward in a coordinated way. This form of end-to-end coordination includes hydrogen production, distribution, the right refuelling infrastructure and the right vehicles. To do this requires overcoming the silos that cause the piecemeal approach. It requires close working between many stakeholders, planning and coordination around technical requirements and standards. But if done effectively, it can avoid the pitfalls mentioned above, providing the reliability and security that all stakeholders need.
Hydrogen freight corridors are a prime example of what happens when you co-evolve hydrogen infrastructure. The UK government-backed HyHaul project—part of the Zero Emission HGV & Infrastructure Demonstrator programme—is an upcoming instance of this approach. The project involves up to 30 fuel-cell HGVs and three sites along the M4, with refuelling stations comprising on-site hydrogen storage, high-capacity compression for 700 and 350 bar, and dispensing technology suitable for high-throughput HGV operations. Electrolysers produce the hydrogen at a site in South Wales, and tankers distribute it to the refuelling stations. The HGV operators and HGVs have been identified, and the whole value chain—from end to end—is being moved forward together.
Hydrogen for freight is at a critical juncture
In the first instance, hydrogen freight corridors give fleet and infrastructure operators joint confidence to implement hydrogen vehicles and refuelling stations. Freight has fixed trunking routes, so refuelling infrastructure can be placed strategically along these routes to give all stakeholders certainty. Corridors are an example of joined-up thinking: they create sufficient density of demand to justify infrastructure investment, with many logistics companies using these routes and refuelling stations. They also create sufficient infrastructure coverage to justify investment in hydrogen HGVs for fleet managers.
The refuelling stations have a dual purpose, too. Though primarily there for HGVs, they are also available for other fleets and even public use. Smaller vehicle fleets, such as utilities vans, can use the refuelling infrastructure to support their own decarbonisation efforts. This could be as an alternative to having their own dedicated depot refuelling, or simply as a form of public refuelling within their service area. With the right stakeholder engagement, these ‘secondary customers’ can be planned into a project from the start.
The result for infrastructure operators is a more robust business model that reduces the dependence on any one type of customer and maximises utilisation rates. This makes individual projects more viable and supports overall market confidence. For hydrogen producers, it ensures a steady, reliable offtake agreement that mitigates against their risks, while helping maintain a reliable supply that prevents fleets from being taken off road temporarily.
The right path at a critical point
Hydrogen for freight is at a critical juncture. The technology is proven, the environmental and legislative imperative is clear and government support is starting to come through with projects like HyHaul. And while projects like this demonstrate what is possible when government backing enables end-to-end coordination across the hydrogen value chain, further ongoing support is needed for this model to be duplicated across the UK. With such support available, I am confident in its success: hydrogen freight corridors bypass the chicken-egg problem, drive broader hydrogen fleet adoption, minimise asset risks and bolster market confidence throughout and beyond the hydrogen sector.
Dr Lee Juby is CEO at Fuel Cell Systems and executive team member at the Hydrogen Energy Association. This article is taken from our Outlook 2026 report. To read Outlook in full, click here.
