The billionaire owners of Asda are investing £30 million into Glasgow-based hydrogen lorry start up Hydrogen Vehicle Systems.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa’s investment coincides with news that the firm is testing a new lorry which runs on hydrogen cells after gaining £21 million of taxpayer grants.
The Issa brothers are looking to create a UK network of hydrogen fuel stations as part of their ongoing drive to lower Asda’s emissions, as they aim to decarbonise around 300,000 heavy goods vehicles across their fleet.
This comes as UK supermarkets have been looking to lower their carbon emissions by introducing electric vehicle fleets to replace traditional petrol or diesel vehicles. Asda recently expanded its EV rollout across several more stores and hopes to completely remove diesel vehicles from its home delivery services by 2028.
Set up in 2017 by a team of physicists, mechanics and engineers, Hydrogen Vehicles Systems has said it aims to start HGV production by 2026. It claims that its hydrogen-powered lorries will have a range of around 350 miles and can be refuelled in the same time as a diesel lorry.
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Asda previously become the first UK retailer to use hydrogen fuel cells to power manual handling equipment, reducing its carbon footprint in the area by 80%.
In May the government announced that a phase-out date, stopping the sale of new non-zero emissions heavy goods vehicles of less than or equal to 26 tonnes will be introduced from 2035. It also said that from 2040 all new HGVs sold in the UK will have to be zero-emission.
As part of its strategy to encourage the rollout of more zero-emissions vehicles, the government also recently extended its plug-in truck grants which reduce the price of zero-emission commercial vehicles.
Grant rates for those eligible are set at 20% of the purchase price.
The UK has been warned by NGO Climate Group about a comparative shortage of electric vehicles meaning that the country risks meeting its targets. The organisation said that while there is high demand for the vehicle companies are facing long waiting lists to get them.
Hydrogen powered vehicles are being touted as a viable, low-carbon alternative.
