Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential role of hydrogen in reducing carbon emissions relating to the logistics sector.

Hydrogen has an important potential role to play in decarbonising heavier applications such as HGVs. There are specific use cases where hydrogen can offer advantages over batteries, for example where vehicles need longer ranges and more rapid refuelling (longer distance HGVs) or greater energy density. The Zero Emission Road Freight Demonstrator programme will showcase zero emission HGV technologies, including hydrogen fuel cells, at scale, on UK roads. The programme will build a strong evidence base to enable strategic, long-term, national infrastructure decisions to be made.

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) supports the supply of renewable hydrogen used in transport by placing obligations on suppliers to ensure a percentage of the fuel supplied in the UK is from renewable sources where it can provide valuable carbon savings. The Government has expanded this support to include not just road vehicles, but also trains and shipping. Fuels supplied under the RTFO scheme deliver a third of domestic transport carbon savings under current carbon budgets.