JCB motors on hydrogen

22 May 2021

There was a fascinating article in a popular car magazine earlier this week about research at JCB into machinery powered by hydrogen motors. It went viral on social media and has been quickly taken up by the national press. 

The manufacturer claims to have developed an internal combustion engine that runs directly on hydrogen. It therefore does away with the expensive fuel cells that are typically used to enable the gas to charge a battery to provide power, as is typically the case. 

JCB is reported in Autocar magazine to have created an engine that burns hydrogen gas injected into the combustion chamber along with compressed air. 

The power unit has been fitted successfully to a JCB 3CX backhoe loader with minimal modifications and is said to produce no CO2 and negligible NOx pollutants. 

Why is this significant? It means that heavier machinery requiring considerable power could use an internal combustion engine similar to those that plant hire professionals, mechanics and users are so familiar with. 

And instead of recharging a battery, you would just fill up from a hydrogen gas tank on site. 

However, JCB’s chairman Lord Bamford is quoted as saying that the Department of Transport needs to prioritise investment in creating a hydrogen supply infrastructure in the UK. This, he says, is essental if we are to provide power with zero emissions for large construction machinery, which requires more energy than is practical with batteries. 

It’s an oft-used phrase but this engine really might be a game-changer.