AHFC win funding for the ZERFT Phase 1

The UK Government has awarded £350,000 to the AHFC for their contribution to the first phase of the Zero Emissions Road Freight Trial (ZERFT) to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen trucks in the UK. This intervention will ensure the UK keeps up with our EU neighbours in HGV decarbonisation and will put pressure on operators to meet our climate commitments.

ZERFT Phase 1 will act as a feasibility study to scope the possibility for a wider deployment of fuel cell trucks over the early to mid 2020s. Through the AHFC operator group, the AHFC is also planning to trial a Hyzon 44t hydrogen fuel cell truck during ZERFT Phase 1, and the truck is set to begin operation in January 2022. This initial deployment will be used to inform on the feasibility of larger scale deployments, with the aim to deploy hundreds of vehicles in ZERFT Phase 2, helping to further the business case for hydrogen trucks. The strategy adopted is to aggregate demand across a number of operators to encourage vehicle OEMs to bring their vehicles to the UK. The project aims to develop a strategically located public network of high-capacity refuelling infrastructure across the UK to pave the way for commercial-scale roll-out of hydrogen trucks in mid-late 2020s.