‘World’s first’ hydrogen-powered backhoe loader deployed on £10bn Lower Thames Crossing

National Highways confirmed that the project, which will connect Kent and Essex via a new road and tunnel, has introduced a JCB-built, hydrogen-fuelled backhoe loader for survey work near Gravesend, Kent. It is the first time such machinery, which uses a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine, has been used outside a test environment. The machine is being operated by Skanska, the project’s delivery partner in Kent, supplied by Flannery Plant Hire and fuelled by Ryze.

The deployment is expected to cut more than one tonne of CO₂ equivalent in its first month of use. National Highways said the move is part of a strategy to eliminate diesel from worksites by 2027, supported by what it described as the UK’s largest-ever purchase of green hydrogen for a construction project.

The Lower Thames Crossing, linking the counties of Kent and Essex, has set a target to reduce its construction carbon footprint by 70% through the adoption of low-carbon materials and methods, with any residual emissions to be offset in the early 2030s. The scheme also plans to use only low-carbon steel and concrete.

Matt Palmer, executive director for the Lower Thames Crossing, said the project 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.”

JCB managing director for global major accounts Steve Fox described the live deployment as a “huge milestone,” noting it is the first time hydrogen has been proven as a carbon-neutral fuel in a working construction machine on a major UK project.

JCB has previously sent a hydrogen-powered machine out for trials at Gallagher’s Hermitage Quarry in Kent earlier this year and the backhoe loader is undergoing final testing and validation, with plans to go into full production at the OEM’s Rocester factory in Staffordshire in 2026.

The Lower Thames Crossing received planning permission in March 2025, aims to double road capacity across the Thames, ease congestion at the Dartford Crossing and create a direct freight route between the South East ports, the Midlands and the North. Construction could begin in 2026, with opening scheduled for the early 2030s.