Transport Hubs

Government plans, commitments and targets:

Headlines from the Transport Decarbonisation Plan (published by Department for Transport on 14 July 2021):

As detailed in the Government’s Decarbonisation of Transport plan, multi-modal transport hubs or shared charging / refuelling solutions will facilitate charging and refuelling solutions for a range of transport sectors. The Government’s first transport hub which launched last year in Tees Valley will be receiving £3 million of funding this year to enable hydrogen for transport to develop alongside its application in the industrial, energy and other sectors. The hub will bring together government, industry, and academia to focus future hydrogen research and development, real world testing and demonstrations.

A hub masterplan has identified options in the Tees Valley, as well as providing a blueprint for the creation of hubs in other areas across the UK. A second hub in Holyhead has been launched with the aim to build a pilot hydrogen plant to support the decarbonisation of the heavy goods vehicle and maritime markets on the Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Môn).

What we've been up to

Stakeholder Engagement

We have been engaging extensively with stakeholders from across the HGV, bus / coach, blue-light, local authority and technology provider sectors to understand their:

views and insights on the barriers and opportunities for decarbonising their sector
views on the supporting infrastructure requirements needed for bus/HGV depots, truck stops, fire stations, hospitals and ambulance depots
views on the need case for transport hubs, including expected use and preferred locations (a transport hub is a location where multiple forms of transport can share underlying energy infrastructure for charging or green hydrogen production, e.g. ports for shipping and road/rail freight, rail freight terminals for rail and HGVs, bus depots and rapid EV charging).

Our next steps

Develop and share our recommendations with Department for Transport (DfT)

We will be using our position as a critical friend to Government to turn these stakeholder insights into clear recommendations for DfT to help shape future plans and policy for transport hubs.