British hydrogen company GeoPura has been announced as the supplier of the largest volume of green hydrogen ever produced for a British construction project.
National Highways’ Lower Thames Crossing project will be the first major British infrastructure project to be carbon neutral in construction. A key part of this ambition is replacing diesel with hydrogen, electric, and other low-carbon fuels. Unlike diesel, hydrogen only emits water when used in a fuel cell, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting air quality for both the workforce and local communities.
Enhancing hydrogen production capacity is a key part of the Government’s plans to increase energy security by reducing reliance on imported fuel sources that are vulnerable to disruption in supply. The emerging green energy sector has the potential to create over 400 000 jobs and add over £7 billion to the British economy by 2030.
Minister for Industry, Chris McDonald, said: “GeoPura and the Lower Thames Crossing collaboration is proof that clean energy goes hand-in-hand with major British infrastructure projects. “Hydrogen has a key role to play in our industrial strategy, and from Nottinghamshire to Kent, our first flagship hydrogen projects will sustainably power projects up and down the country.”
Matt Palmer, Executive Director for the Lower Thames Crossing, said: “Today we have given the green light to green hydrogen. By replacing diesel with home grown hydrogen, we're not only reducing our own carbon footprint but also helping clean up the construction sector. National Highways is supporting new jobs and skills that will put British businesses and people at the forefront of the growing clean energy sector."
Andrew Cunningham, CEO, GeoPura, commented: “We are extremely proud to be supplying the largest volume of green hydrogen ever contracted for a British construction project and I congratulate the Lower Thames Crossing for setting a powerful example of how major infrastructure can be delivered sustainably. This contract award further strengthens the British hydrogen supply chain driving both price efficiency and British jobs across this new, exciting industry with tangible deployments.”
GeoPura will supply 2500 t of hydrogen to the Lower Thames Crossing, enough to replace over 12 million l of diesel and save an estimated 30 000 t of CO2 emissions. The hydrogen will be supplied as a managed service, which includes the delivery, storage and distribution to equipment on site during the main construction phase of the project.
Six hydrogen powered generators provided by GeoPura are already at work on the project, charging batteries used in electric machinery on a work site in Essex with zero emissions. A British-made JCB hydrogen fuelled digger became the first one deployed outside a test environment anywhere in the world when it was used to carry out survey work on the project in Kent last year. The scale of the project’s purchase will accelerate the construction industry’s progress toward net zero by requiring its Delivery Partners and their supply chain – who are three of the biggest construction firms in Europe – to invest in hydrogen-powered machinery, and develop the skills needed to operate and maintain them.
The Lower Thames Crossing is a new road and tunnel that will tackle congestion on the Dartford Crossing and drive economic growth by creating a reliable new link between the ports of the south east, the Midlands, and the North.
The project?received planning permission in March 2025. In the Budget in 2025, the Chancellor committed the final part of public funding that will enable the private sector to take forward construction and long-term operation of the new road.