Last week [21 August] Balfour Beatty shared the news that it has successfully converted two HGVs for salt spreading and one impact protection vehicle (IPV) to run on both hydrogen and diesel. It had said earlier that it will also convert a traffic management vehicle.
Balfour Beatty thinks that retrofitting diesel vehicles, which still have significant operational life in then, makes better sense for cutting carbon emissions in the near future than discarding them for battery electric vehicles. However, since there are still many hurdles to clear in terms of hydrogen supply, having vehicles that can run on diesel too removes the risk of having no fuel.
Road test data is showing that the salt spreaders are emitting 26% less carbon than full diesel vehicles. Balfour Beatty said that there were less impressive carbon savings from the IPV and did not share the figures.
The machines are set up to switch to hydrogen when their engines reach optimum running temperature. Balfour Beatty notes that this means the hybrid set up is more useful for machines that are running constantly, rather than those that run intermittently.
The three vehicles are being deployed on the M77/ Glasgow Southern Orbital design build finance operate (DBFO) project, where Balfour Beatty is working for concession holder Connect to deliver operations and maintenance. The roads are a mixture of the M77 motorway, trunk roads and non-trunk roads.
With a funding contribution of £243,000 from the Scottish Government, Balfour Beatty has been working with ULEMCo, Logan Energy and PlusZero Power over two years to create the hybrid vehicles and sort out a hydrogen supply. ULEMCo provides hydrogen conversion technology, Plus Zero Power is supplying hydrogen via the Aberdeen City Hydrogen Storage (ACHES) facility and Logan Energy is providing hydrogen refuellers.
In a September 2023 blog, Balfour Beatty revealed that it had considered three different mobile refuelling units from Logan Energy, Hydrasum and Nanosun with Logan Energy the only one that could work within the project timescales, since lead times for such equipment are currently long. Mobile hydrogen supplies – rather than permanent hydrogen stations – will be vital if hydrogen is to be widely used in the construction sector, notes Balfour Beatty.
Balfour Beatty also reported that its initial partner for supplying green hydrogen – made by using renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen – stopped operating over the course of the conversion project, which meant it had to find a new source. There’s a ‘chicken-and-egg’ situation, says the contractor, where supply needs to ramp up with demand, but there’s no clear trajectory yet.
Aside from the limited availability of hydrogen gas and hydrogen refuellers, Balfour Beatty also reported that the cost of retrofit as a key challenge. It also says that fast-paced changes in hydrogen technology made investment decisions tricky.
For the drivers of the plant, there are no differences during the operation of the vehicles. However, the refuelling process requires additional safety measures and specialist training. Because refuelling zones are classified as ATEX (Atmospheres Explosives, an EU directive), with a risk of explosion due to flammable gases, the operatives wear antistatic clothing to prevent static electricity from igniting the hydrogen gas.
Balfour Beatty’s work on the M77 contract follows on from other hydrogen trials with a piling rig on HS2 and with smaller equipment on its Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. It is also powering a large site building on an HS2 site near Birmingham, working in joint venture with Vinci, with a hydrogen generator.
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