National Highways recently announced that the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) will be the first major infrastructure programme in Britain to be carbon neutral in construction.
The news comes as a British-made JCB hydrogen fuelled excavator – the first one deployed outside a test environment anywhere in the world – was used to carry out survey work on the LTC Kent Roads project that Skanska is delivering on behalf of National Highways. Watch the video here
As a carbon pathfinder project, the Lower Thames Crossing is scaling up the use of low-carbon construction methods and materials, and in partnership with local businesses and specialists across Britain is developing new green skills and creating jobs.
In the first ever live deployment worldwide, the hydrogen powered excavator was used to carry out ground investigation surveys around the route of the road near Gravesend. The machine was provided by Flannery Plant Hire, and the hydrogen fuel was provided by Ryze.
Chris Ottley, Skanska’s LTC Project Director said: “The ongoing ground investigation work is helping us refine the detailed design of the project. Crucially this trial has proved that the hydrogen machine is a capable replacement for diesel powered machinery.”
The scheme aims to eliminate diesel from its worksites by 2027 by using a combination of hydrogen, electric and biofuel to power its machinery.
Roads and Buses Minister Simon Lightwood said: “The government-backed Lower Thames Crossing will slash journey times for motorists, as well as our vital freight industry. Its construction will also be completely carbon neutral, showing major infrastructure projects can be delivered hand in hand with our ambitious environmental targets.
“Built and powered by British businesses, the Lower Thames Crossing is creating economic growth and unlocking jobs, all part of our government’s Plan for Change.”
Matt Palmer, National Highways Executive Director for Lower Thames Crossing, said: “Our commitment to being carbon neutral and restoring nature will prove that the British construction industry has the vision and skills to build the projects needed to drive growth in a way that enhances, not impacts, the local environment. It’s an incredibly exciting moment as our ambitions to create a local workforce combine with this cutting-edge technology to put UK construction at the forefront of global innovation.”
Steve Fox, JCB’s Managing Director for Global Major Accounts, said: “This is a huge milestone for the construction industry. For the first time on a major infrastructure project, hydrogen has proven its worth on site as a carbon-neutral fuel in a working JCB construction machine. We are very excited about the future opportunities for hydrogen-powered machinery on the Lower Thames Crossing project.”
The Lower Thames Crossing, linking Kent and Essex, will double road capacity across the Thames and will drive growth by creating a direct, efficient freight route between South East ports, the Midlands, and the North, easing congestion at Dartford Crossing.
Planned as the UK’s greenest road, it will deliver six times more green space than road area, with a million trees, woodland, parks, wetlands, and 40 miles of paths. Eighty percent of the road will be underground or behind earthworks, with green bridges for wildlife.
LTC aims to cut construction carbon by 70% through design and materials and will offset remaining emissions responsibly in the early 2030s.
This project drives growth while supporting the UK’s net-zero and clean energy goals. More details are in LTC’s latest sustainability report.