JCB welcomes the Prime Minister’s plan ‘to have a better, more honest debate’ about how we reach Net Zero by 2050.

This debate needs to include how we plan for practical and affordable alternatives to fossil fuels.

Alongside battery-electric technology, hydrogen technology needs to be part of the Government’s plans to decarbonise.

JCB’s own plans to decarbonise its equipment are already well advanced. Smaller JCB machines are already powered by battery-electric technology. Larger JCB machines will be powered by hydrogen, a zero CO₂ fuel, in purpose-designed internal combustion engines. Prototype JCB machines powered by hydrogen combustion engines have already undergone over 20,000 of hours of testing and have recently passed 10,000 miles on the road.

JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: “Hydrogen combustion technology is both practical and affordable, and if it were adopted more rapidly as a pragmatic alternative to fossil fuels, it would accelerate the decarbonisation of the construction industry and agriculture, allowing us to reach Net Zero targets more quickly. Hydrogen also has the potential to accelerate the decarbonisation of other industry sectors, such as automotive, steelmaking, ceramics and shipping. It’s a technology that is not inflationary and it should feature more strongly in our country’s Net Zero plans.”