Air Products Supports Associated British Ports’ First Hydrogen Terminal Tractor Trial

Associated British Ports (ABP) is the first UK port operator to trial a hydrogen fuelled tractor at its container terminal at the Port of Immingham alongside a mobile hydrogen filling station provided by Air Products.

Suzanne Lowe (2nd right), Air Products, with Simon Bird (2nd left), ABP, Ben George, ORE Catapult, and Andrew Ward, Terberg with the prototype hydrogen fuelled tractor at the Port of Immingham

This joint pilot project received funding from ORE Catapult through Innovate UK’s Hydrogen Innovation Initiative (HII), following funding of initial feasibility from the Department for Transport’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. The Terberg hydrogen terminal tractor has been tested at the UK’s largest port by the volume of goods moved. 

This demonstration is a key activity in the bid to decarbonise port operations, and an important step in the creation, delivery, and use of hydrogen at the Port of Immingham. Alongside this, HII is developing market, technology, and economic assessments of hydrogen technologies to support the larger UK industry with hydrogen adoption.  

Simon Bird, Regional Director of the Humber ports said: “This demonstration of using hydrogen in port equipment in Immingham has been able to highlight the challenges and benefits of using this zero-emission energy in our port.  It shows our customers how forward thinking we are in meeting the need to de-carbonise the port and it’s great we’ve been able to collaborate with all the various partners in its delivery.”

Maritime Minister Baroness Vere said: “Decarbonising the maritime sector goes beyond cutting emissions at sea, and this trial demonstrates that hydrogen will play a significant part in UK’s port operations and shed their dependence on fossil fuels.We have supported 86 projects so far through our Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, showing the world that the UK is serious about cleaning up the sector and leading the charge in demonstrating innovative technologies in an operational setting.”

Suzanne Lowe, Air Products’ Vice President and General Manager - UK commented: “As a first mover committed to the energy transition, Air Products’ is helping drive progress towards the government’s urgent focus of decarbonising the UK’s hard-to-abate sectors and reducing fossil fuel dependency. Through successful implementation, this trial will help provide an important pathway to decarbonise port-related heavy goods equipment.  We are proud to be enabling ABP in this project through the provision of hydrogen and refuelling infrastructure. Our collaboration marks a further extension of the strong partnership we have established with ABP as we work towards building the largest green hydrogen facility in the UK.”  

Alisdair Couper, MD of Terberg DTS UK Ltd added,” “Terberg Special Vehicles started testing its concept Hydrogen Fuel Cell YT Terminal tractor in Mainland Europe firstly in Rotterdam and more recently the Port of Antwerp. This latest trial phase is the first of its type in the UK.

ABP Ports have been a long-term customer for Terberg Special Vehicles and have operated a fleet of YT 4x2 and RT 4x4 tractors over the years in their mixed role environments. This is an exciting opportunity to explore this new groundbreaking technology in a dynamic real-world scenario.” 

Lauren Hadnum, ORE Catapult’s Clean Maritime Manager said: “This project excitingly highlights the increasing technology readiness of vehicles utilising hydrogen fuel in UK port operations, creating a clear demand signal for many HII project partners. Major learnings from this project will have decarbonisation impacts for port vehicles, vessels and the wider hydrogen supply chain. The Humber is well placed to develop this hydrogen value chain; via Offshore Wind energy availability, local demand, and strong system level collaborations such as demonstrated in this project.”

The project has been a collaboration between ABP, Toyota Tsusho UK, Terberg, Air Products, and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.

About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 80 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets. The Company has two growth pillars driven by sustainability. Air Products’ base business provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food. The Company also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world's largest industrial gas and carbon-capture projects, supplying world-scale clean hydrogen for global transportation, industrial markets, and the broader energy transition. Additionally, Air Products is the world leader in the supply of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment, and globally provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers. 

The Company had fiscal 2022 sales of $12.7 billion from operations in over 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of about $70 billion. More than 21,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products’ higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and reimagine what's possible to address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based. 

About ABP Humber
ABP Humber Ports complex form the UK’s busiest trading gateway. The four ports of Immingham, Grimsby, Goole, and Hull handle more than 58 million tonnes of cargo between them each year worth approximately £75 billion. Across the Humber, the ports support 34,900 jobs and contribute £2.5 billion to the UK economy.

ABP Humber’s major investment programme ensures the ports offer state-of the-art cargo handling infrastructure and equipment, alongside a highly skilled team who can handle a vast array of cargo safely, efficiently, and sustainably.

We work collaboratively to build long-term partnerships and deliver the right supply chain solutions for customers, including value-added services and new facilities tailored to suit their business needs.

Our Port Operations are complimented by their Pilotage Service and Vessel Traffic Service which ensure vessels are safely navigated through the Humber Estuary. 

ABP Humber offers 364 hectares of development land across its port locations capable of attracting investment and delivering transformational benefits for the economy both locally and nationally. View the dedicated property website - https://property.abports.co.uk/. 

The ports are all part of the new Humber Freeport, which offers three tax sites with an exceptionally business-friendly tax and regulatory environment for potential manufacturing investors.

ABP Humber supports its local communities. The ABP Humber Coastal Half Marathon and 5k is now in its 6th year and complements ABP’s race sponsorship across the country.    

About ABP (www.abports.co.uk)
ABP, the UK’s leading ports group is Keeping Britain Trading with 21 ports and other transport related businesses, creating a unique national network capable of handling a vast array of cargo.

We are driving growth, contributing £7.5 billion to the UK economy every year and supporting over 119,000 jobs. Our current investment programme promises to further increase our contribution to regional economies around the UK.

ABP is also an essential partner for the Offshore Wind industry, providing Operations and Maintenance (O&M) for over 50% of the sector’s activity, as well as investing in infrastructure to realise future renewable energy generation. 

ABP in Numbers

• ~ 90 million tonnes of cargo handled each year
• 5,000 hectares of port estate owned
• 1,000 hectares of open storage
• 1.4 million square metres of covered storage
• 87km of quay
• > 1.5 million vehicles every year
• ¼ of the UK’s rail freight generated
• > £55 million investment made in low emission and renewable energy generation technologies