Swindon and Wiltshire LEP is amongst 90 cities and regions and another 80 businesses as co-signatories to the Europe-wide fuel-cell and hydrogen joint undertaking (FCH).

Whilst use of hydrogen in industrial processes is not novel, its application as an energy source and energy carrier in different technologies is growing. The advent of hydrogen powered trains running in the UK by 2022 is being led by Alstom and Eversholt Rail, and the London Fire Brigade and Transport for London are developing through extensive live trials heavier vehicles appropriate for towns and cities that in future will be accessible only by ultra-low emission vehicles. Cities such as Birmingham, Aberdeen and Oxford are advancing their plans to bring hydrogen into play as they decarbonise.

This FCH group has has published information on 26 separate applications for hydrogen, from delivery vans to road sweepers, and heat and power plants in housing and business premises. Each of the Technology Introduction dossiers contains a preliminary business case analysis, providing a useful starting point for the important discussions about future energy provision that all businesses and organisations are having across the entire economy.