UK Government energy secretary Grant Shapps has challenged JCB to have its ‘super-efficient’ hydrogen machines working on building sites by next year.
Mr Shapps said he was ‘impressed’ with the company’s early success in developing engines powered by the zero-carbon fuel.
The secretary of state for energy security and net zero visited JCB Power Systems to see for himself the progress a team of more than 150 engineers have made in developing hydrogen combustion engines for use in construction and agricultural machinery.
More than 50 prototype engines have been produced so far and several machines are currently undergoing testing.
Mr Shapps said, “This is a unique prospect that works well, and I’ve challenged JCB by the middle of next year – by 2024 – to be operating some of these on our roads and on construction sites. And JCB told me that it will be happy to try and achieve that objective, and good luck to them!”
Mr Shapps was hosted by JCB chairman Lord Bamford and CEO Graeme Macdonald. He was told how the business had launched a range of battery-electric compact machines, with more than 20,000 battery-electric machines already sold. He was also shown how battery-electric technology was ‘largely unsuitable’ for heavier equipment due to the higher energy demands, and the longer working hours of such machinery in remote locations where access to grid connections is limited.
At JCB’s Staffordshire proving ground, Mr Shapps drove a hydrogen-powered JCB backhoe loader and tried his hand at refuelling the prototype. “JCB operates in two fundamentally quite difficult areas to decarbonise: construction and agriculture,” he added. “I have to say they’re making decarbonisation look easy, and I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen.”
Lord Bamford commented, “It was a pleasure to show the secretary of state the great progress JCB’s British engineers are making in developing a zero-carbon solution to power our future machines. They need to be powered by something other than fossil fuels in the future and super-efficient, affordable, high-tech hydrogen combustion engines with zero emissions can be answer for the construction industry and agriculture. What’s more, they can be brought to market quickly using our existing supply base.”
