Wales to Host Extensive UK Hydrogen Highway

A plan is due to be announced on February 11th that will turn a substantial part of the UK into an alternative energy hot-spot. The plan sees a large stretch of the M4 motorway being converted into a so-called “hydrogen highway”, and incorporating multiple recharge sites for both electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles using it.

Its goal is to promote the viability of new, alternative fuel technologies as a replacement for traditional, petrol-powered vehicles, and Wales will be at the forefront of the scheme.

Ministers are expected to announce today that Wales will gain LCEA (Low Carbon Economic Area) status, and that it will become a major site for low-emission and hydrogen fuel exploitation. Within this, the M4 motorway – which connects London to Wales, taking in important UK cities like Reading, Swindon and Bristol along the way – will become the UK’s most extensive Hydrogen Highway, incorporating a whole network of alternative fuel recharge facilities spaced along it at convenient locations.

Hydrogen: Alternative Fuel

Hydrogen has been considered an important source of alternative fuel for some time now, but the limited provision of related infrastructure has stopped it entering mainstream supply, thus far. The exhaust emitted by hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is considered ‘clean’, but hydrogen fuel is not a naturally-occurring substance and, therefore, needs to be manufactured: a process that can involve fossil fuels or new alternative energy sources like solar or wind power.

The scientific community remains divided to a large extent, when it comes to hydrogen fuel. Some are confident that it can be used effectively and with positive results, others highlight the expense involved with transporting it around, and with the process that electrifies it.

M4: Hydrogen Highway

Commenting on the forthcoming M4 Hydrogen Highway announcement, Friends of the Earth Cymru director, Gordon James, welcomed it, but stressed the importance of drawing on renewable energy sources as a means of supporting the scheme.

“This is excellent news”, he stated. “It will help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions for the transport sector which is responsible for about 12% of carbon dioxide emissions in Wales.

It will also help develop the green economy in Wales. It shows that Wales is prepared to take the lead in this area, which is something we can be proud of.
Previously, Enviro News reported on Mayor Boris Johnson’s plans to create the UK’s first Hydrogen Highway, in the capital, London.