BAM Construction has welcomed JCB’s hydrogen-powered loadall telescopic handler after testing the machine on a major Midlands regeneration project.
The company has been trialling the first JCB 540-180H loadall on the Tea Factory regeneration project in Digbeth, Birmingham.
JCB said the machine has a zero-carbon emission driveline with the same power and torque characteristics as the conventional diesel-powered model.
It is powered by a hydrogen combustion engine developed over three years by JCB at its plant in Derbyshire. JCB said it has more than 50,000 accumulated hours of testing on its sites.
Colin Evison, BAM’s innovation technical lead, said: “We’re starting to explore the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel. It was important to get the hydrogen fuel machine on a real construction site. We’ve seen it in test environments, and we know that technically it does work, but putting it to the test on a real site makes a real difference.
“We’ve noticed no difference in the way the machine operates. We have to refuel the machine in a different way, but it’s a simple and straightforward process.”
Maggie Hall, BAM’s environmental sustainability manager, added: “Sustainability is one of our firm’s core values and we have set ambitious net-zero targets. One of those targets is to halve our Scope 3 emissions, compared to our 2019 levels.
“Scope 3 emissions are the ones that we can influence, but we can’t directly control. A significant part of our Scope 3 emissions is associated with our supply chain, so it’s crucial that we work with the supply chain to reduce emissions.”
