With sales of all non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) ending in 2035 or earlier - and those over 26 tonnes by 2040 - there is a race on to provide the most viable alternative to internal combustion.
Glasgow-based Hydrogen Vehicle Systems appears to be one of the UK's leaders in this emerging sector, having designed and developed a technology demonstrator as a precursor to having a new hydrogen-electric HGV ready for launch early next year.
Last month, the company revealed the demo vehicle, showcasing its fully-functional powertrain, which is set for use in its 40 tonne articulated tractor unit.
This vehicle category is one of the most polluting on the roads, accounting for 22% of transport CO2 emissions, while only making up 7% of road traffic - making it a top priority for rapid replacement - but without losing out on load pulling, quick refuelling and long distance driving capabilities.
Earlier this month, HVS was awarded £30m from the UK Government and automotive industry-backed Advanced Propulsion Centre.
This followed a £25m investment from the EG Group forecourt chain in September, with a partnership potentially seeing it provide the refuelling infrastructure in exchange for a fleet of vehicles.
The technology consists of a fuel cell and energy storage system to deploy electricity to an electric motor to transmit power to the wheels. It also uses kinetic energy recovery to recapture energy under braking and while the truck is slowing down.
This should permit longer range, higher load-carrying capacity and faster refuelling than would be possible using lithium-ion battery technology alone. Depending on the journey - the route travelled, road conditions and driving style - HVS’ HGV has the capacity to cover in excess of 500km.
To deliver on this promise, the business is building a workforce of circa 600 employees, with many recruits coming from the automotive and aerospace industries.
However, chief executive Jawad Khursheed told Insider that things haven't always been so positive.
HV Systems was founded in 2017, but almost went into liquidation before its co-founders found new backing for a relaunch in 2020, which was followed by a £5m fundraise in 2021, with key support from Beehive Equity, a subsidiary of the EG Group.
"It was a turbulent time, we made 162 attempts to get finance and the 163rd was the Issa brothers [owners of the EG Group], they had all the parts of the jigsaw, apart from the vehicles themselves.
"Now with the UK Government backing we can accelerate production and we've got a route to market through all the EG forecourts."
Chief scientific officer David Telford agreed that this is an exciting time for HVS, as with the finances sorted, they can bring in "really smart people on engineering and manufacturing side", as well as build out the sales and marketing team.
"Word has got out in the industry that we’re hiring, I think we got about 250 unsolicited CVs last week alone."
He reckons the reason behind the interest is the same reason he joined - to try and make a difference.
"The HGV sector's diesel emissions are increasing, driven by Covid demand for deliveries, but there's been virtually no progress on decarbonising, so it's a major environmental problem.
"Being at the forefront of trying to solve that problem is great - and competition can only be a good thing."
Telford explained that while for consumer vehicles, it makes sense to focus on lithium batteries, with hydrogen technology, the obvious target is the long-haul HGV market.
"If you're travelling in the region of 140,000km per annum, then you get to cost of ownership the quickest - they’re the backbone of logistics operations, so it's the highest return on carbon reductions and return on investment."
Telford continued: "The other difficulty with hydrogen automobiles is the lack of hydrogen infrastructure - which is a bit chicken and egg really - but that doesn’t apply to us, as with HGVs you don’t need that many operating out of depot in order to build a station where its needed."
With a range of around 450km, he stated that they should only need seven stations to cover 90% of the UK. A number of vehicles will be sent out to test this, using mobile refuellers, with a view to actually getting the first vehicles on the road by 2025.
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