Powering Growth:The role of hydrogen internal combustion engines in non-road mobile machinery

This report provides the output of the “Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Subgroup” an industry-led “Task and Finish Group” convened by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) for the Off-taker Group of the Hydrogen Delivery Council (HDC) who, during the first half of 2024, were charged with the job of considering the latest evidence on the role of hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2ICE) as a decarbonisation option for diesel engines, primarily in non-road mobile machinery (NRMM). The scope of this industry-led process was to focus on the opportunities and challenges associated with the  application and use   of hydrogen in internal combustion engines in the NRMM environment  and   make recommendations on how these issues might be addressed. It should be noted that the wider, supply-side considerations such as production, transport and distribution of hydrogen is out of scope, being the responsibility of other HDC sub-groups. Importantly, the specific examination of H2ICE’s role in the NRMM sector, which is considered one of the hardest to decarbonise, stems from industry’s concern that the generally held assumption within policymakers that decarbonisation technologies are largely electric, either battery or hydrogen fuel cell, and the consequent belief that there is no role for combustion engines in the net zero future, will both risk delivery of targets by 2050 and lead to significant negative economic impacts in the transition, if not addressed.