The Tees Valley has been awarded £7 million in government funding for hydrogen projects that will grow the economy and support skilled jobs in the North East.

The funding has been awarded to fuel distributer Exolum to build a publicly accessible green hydrogen refuelling station near Middlesbrough, initially serving at least 25 new zero emission heavy goods vehicles.

Novuna Vehicle Solutions, one of the UK’s largest fleet leasing providers and a leading advocate for zero-emission vehicles, has been awarded funding of over £2.1 million as part of the plans.

As the selected HGV leasing partner within the consortium, Novuna Vehicle Solutions will work alongside German manufacturer Quantron AG, to build, fund and manage the in-life maintenance of the HGVs.

The government-funded Tees Valley hydrogen transport hub is the first of its kind in the country, showing how green hydrogen, which does not produce any harmful emissions when used in a fuel cell, can be utilised in transport.

Technology and Decarbonisation Minister, Anthony Browne, said: It’s fantastic to see the Tees Valley continue to be a trailblazer in this vital technology to decarbonise heavier vehicles – leading the way for the wider rollout of green hydrogen.

“These 3 winning projects will not only support jobs and economic growth in the Tees Valley but will also help decarbonise our transport network.”

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Tees Valley Combined Authority will also use £300,000 of government funding to run a competition for colleges and training institutions to purchase hydrogen training equipment to upskill the local workforce.

The funding follows the announcement of the first two winning projects, led by ULEMCo and Element 2, which will develop hydrogen-powered airport ground-based support vehicles and create new hydrogen refuelling stations.

Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, said: Our area is leading the way in developing the cleaner, healthier and safer transport of the future. This is another great example of how we are creating innovative solutions, such as greener deliveries to our supermarkets.

“As the UK’s first hydrogen transport hub, we are in a fantastic position to take advantage of projects such as this, which will deliver further jobs and investment needed to drive our local economy forward.

“As more of these major projects are confirmed, it’s also essential that we develop skills in our workforce, so this funding is vital to ensure local people can take advantage of the well-paid jobs this new technology is bringing.

Exolum Clean Energies Lead, Andres Suarez, said: “At Exolum, we want to be a relevant player in green hydrogen technology, which is positioning itself as an efficient energy vector to help decarbonise sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy-duty mobility.

“This project in the UK comes in addition to others we have under development and others already fully implemented, such as the first hydrogen plant for mobility in Madrid, Spain. Thanks to joint collaboration with other pioneering companies, we will be able to offer this new technology to the market to drive the energy transition.”