Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support the (a) research and development and (b)deployment of hydrogen-powered vehicles; and whether specific targets have been set for infrastructure rollout to support hydrogen car adoption.

The Department for Transport (DfT) considers that hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives could play an important role in decarbonising the transport sector, particularly in heavier transport such as aviation and maritime.

We are supporting the deployment of hydrogen-powered vehicles including through the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate and the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrators (ZEHID).

The Government is funding academic research and development for hydrogen-powered transport technologies, including through ZEHID’s Zero Emission National (ZEN) Freight project that is working with Imperial College London and the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme’s £3.7m funding to the Clean Maritime Research Hub - a consortium of 13 UK universities.

This is in addition to other research funding allocated under the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and support for the Civil Aviation Authority's Hydrogen in Aviation Regulatory Challenge.

The Government will continue to assess the need for further funding for academic research on hydrogen in transport as more evidence becomes available.