World’s first hydrogen-powered digger approved for use on the roads

The world’s first hydrogen-powered digger has taken “an important first step” towards use at building sites around the country after the government approved its use on the roads, JCB has said.

The UK company’s hydrogen-powered backhoe loader can be tested and used on the roads after the firm received special dispensation from the government.

With a quarter of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions coming from the built environment, the move is aimed at reducing emissions from construction sites.

The JCB prototype is powered by hydrogen combustion, a promising technology for a sector where other types of clean power are less practical and efficient.

JCB chairman Lord Bamford said: “Securing this vehicle special order from the Department for Transport is an important first step in getting JCB machines that are powered by hydrogen combustion engines to and from British building sites using the public highway.”

He added: “JCB’s hydrogen-powered backhoe loader is a world first in our industry, a digger with a purpose-engineered internal combustion engine that uses hydrogen gas as the energy source. It’s a real breakthrough – a zero CO₂ fuel providing the power to drive the pistons in an internal combustion engine.”

The project could also help grow the economy, the government claimed. JCB has already created 150 new jobs in the Midlands, with the promise of hundreds more as the company’s hydrogen project advances.

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