The generators are made in Newcastle through a partnership with Siemens Energy
GeoPura produces green Hydrogen Power Units (HPU) to replace traditional diesel generators(Image: GeoPura)
Hydrogen generators made in Newcastle are to be part of the largest ever use of green hydrogen on a British construction project.
The Lower Thames Crossing – a £10bn project that will create a tunnel under the Thames between Thurrock and Gravesham – has signed a deal with hydrogen firm GeoPura to use hydrogen as a power source on the project.
The scheme is aiming to be the first major infrastructure project in the UK to operate on a carbon neutral basis, and will use hydrogen, electric and other low-carbon fuels to replace diesel and reduce emissions.
GeoPura produces green hydrogen across several locations in the UK and works with Siemens Energy in Newcastle to produce hydrogen generators. Six hydrogen-powered generators provided by GeoPura are already at work on the project, charging batteries used in electric machinery on a work site in Essex.
The company will ultimately supply 2,500 tonnes of hydrogen to the Lower Thames Crossing, enough to replace over 12m litres of diesel and save an estimated 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
GeoPura CEO Andrew Cunningham said: “We’re extremely proud to be supplying the largest volume of green hydrogen ever contracted for a British construction project and I congratulate the Lower Thames Crossing for setting a powerful example of how major infrastructure can be delivered sustainably.
“This contract award further strengthens the British hydrogen supply chain driving both price efficiency and British jobs across this new, exciting industry with tangible deployments.”
GeoPura was founded in 2019 and employs more than 170 people around the UK and Europe. It started work with Siemens Energy in Newcastle in 2022 to produce green hydrogen at an industrial scale.
Minister for Industry Chris McDonald said: “GeoPura and the Lower Thames Crossing collaboration is proof that clean energy goes hand-in-hand with major British infrastructure projects. Hydrogen has a key role to play in our industrial strategy, and from Nottinghamshire to Kent, our first flagship hydrogen projects will sustainably power projects up and down the country.”
Matt Palmer, executive director for the Lower Thames Crossing, said: “Today we’ve given the green light to green hydrogen. By replacing diesel with home grown hydrogen, we’re not only reducing our own carbon footprint but also helping clean up the construction sector.
“National Highways is supporting new jobs and skills that will put British businesses and people at the forefront of the growing clean energy sector.”
