British hydrogen company GeoPura has been selected to supply what is being described as the largest volume of green hydrogen ever produced for a UK construction project, the Lower Thames Crossing.
The National Highways’ Lower Thames Crossing project is targeting carbon-neutral construction, which would be an industry first. A key part of this ambition is replacing diesel with hydrogen, electric and other low-carbon fuels. Unlike diesel, hydrogen only emits water when used in a fuel cell, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting air quality for both the workforce and local communities.
Enhancing hydrogen production capacity is a key part of the Government’s plans to increase energy security by reducing reliance on imported fuel sources that are vulnerable to disruption in supply. The emerging green energy sector has the potential to create over 400,000 jobs and add over £7 billion to the British economy by 2030.
Minister for Industry, Chris McDonald said:
“GeoPura and the Lower Thames Crossing collaboration is proof that clean energy goes hand-in-hand with major British infrastructure projects. Hydrogen has a key role to play in our industrial strategy, and from Nottinghamshire to Kent, our first flagship hydrogen projects will sustainably power projects up and down the country.”
Matt Palmer, Executive Director for the Lower Thames Crossing, said:
“Today we’ve given the green light to green hydrogen. By replacing diesel with home grown hydrogen, we’re not only reducing our own carbon footprint but also helping clean up the construction sector. National Highways is supporting new jobs and skills that will put British businesses and people at the forefront of the growing clean energy sector.”
Founded in 2019, GeoPura produces green hydrogen across several locations in the UK via electrolysis powered by locally sourced renewable electricity. This includes at its flagship HyMarnham Power facility in Nottinghamshire. Located on the site of a former coal-fired power station, the HyMarnham Power site is supported by government HAR1 funding and demonstrates how former fossil fuel infrastructure is being repurposed to deliver clean, secure energy for the future.
The group employs more than 170 people across Britain and Europe, many of whom have transitioned from traditional energy sectors. The contract will support the continued expansion and create more jobs.
Andrew Cunningham, CEO, GeoPura, congratulated the Lower Thames Crossing for “setting a powerful example of how major infrastructure can be delivered sustainably.
“This contract award further strengthens the British hydrogen supply chain driving both price efficiency and British jobs across this new, exciting industry with tangible deployments.”
GeoPura will supply 2,500 tonnes of hydrogen to the Lower Thames Crossing, enough to replace over 12 million litres of diesel and save an estimated 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The hydrogen will be supplied as a managed service, which includes the delivery, storage and distribution to equipment on site during the main construction phase of the project.
Six hydrogen powered generators provided by GeoPura are already at work on the project, charging batteries used in electric machinery on a work site in Essex with zero emissions. A British-made JCB hydrogen fuelled digger became the first one deployed outside a test environment anywhere in the world when it was used to carry out survey work on the project in Kent last year.
GeoPura said the scale of the project’s purchase will accelerate the construction industry’s progress toward net zero by requiring its Delivery Partners and their supply chain – who are three of the biggest construction firms in Europe – to invest in hydrogen-powered machinery, and develop the skills needed to operate and maintain them.
The Lower Thames Crossing is a new road and tunnel that will tackle congestion on the Dartford Crossing and drive economic growth by creating a reliable new link between the ports of the south east, the Midlands, and the North.
The project received planning permission in March 2025. In the Budget last year, the Chancellor committed the final part of public funding that will enable the private sector to take forward construction and long-term operation of the new road.
