The UK’s flagship hydrogen HGV demonstration programme, ZEHID HyHaul, has been brought to an end after failing to secure enough signed customer contracts for hydrogen fuel cell heavy goods vehicles within the timeline set by its government grant.
HyHaul Mobility confirmed on 15 December that Innovate UK and the Department for Transport had withdrawn a key grant, effectively closing the programme, despite progress being delivered across four of its five core work packages.
The shortfall came in the Customer and Fleet Leasing work package, where the programme was unable to convert expressions of interest into binding vehicle orders quickly enough to meet grant milestones.
Grant withdrawn after missed customer commitment milestone
In a public statement, Kyle Arnold, Managing Director of HyHaul Mobility, said the project had delivered “substantial progress” but ultimately fell short on one critical requirement.
“Although substantial progress was delivered across four of the programme’s five work packages, the project was unable to secure sufficient customer commitments for fuel cell heavy goods vehicles and thus did not meet the milestones for this work package. As a result, Innovate UK and DfT have ended a key grant, bringing the programme to an end.”
The ZEHID HyHaul grant was structured around five work packages:
- Programme Management
- Customer and Fleet Leasing
- Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure
- Data and Digital
- Exploitation
HyHaul said it met expectations across all areas except customer and fleet leasing, where leasing partner Novuna was unable to secure the required number of signed agreements to proceed with fuel cell HGV orders.
Strong interest, but no contracts in time
According to HyHaul, more than 100 potential customers were engaged during the programme, representing 192 trucks - equivalent to over 25% of the UK’s 44-tonne HGV market.
Several operators signed Letters of Intent, Memorandums of Understanding and letters of support, but these did not convert into binding contracts within the fixed grant window.
Arnold said the outcome was shaped by timing rather than outright resistance to zero-emission trucks.
“It is also important to note that this signature shortfall was influenced by the fixed timelines attached to the grant, rather than a general market reluctance toward zero-emission technologies. This shortfall was the determining factor in the grant’s termination.”
Wider zero-emission HGV headwinds
HyHaul also pointed to broader market conditions affecting decision-making across the freight sector, including diesel price parity, the phased readiness of large-scale green hydrogen supply, and uncertainty affecting other zero-emission technologies.
The company said similar pressures had been visible across the wider energy transition, including delays and cancellations in major BEV truck programmes, which contributed to slower fleet commitments across the entire zero-emission HGV market.
“These pressures were not unique to hydrogen… which also affected confidence and decision-making across the whole zero-emission HGV landscape.”
A full hydrogen HGV ecosystem, on paper at least
Despite the programme’s closure, HyHaul said the project had demonstrated what a fully integrated hydrogen HGV ecosystem could look like in practice, combining vehicles, refuelling infrastructure, hydrogen supply and digital systems within a single coordinated framework.
“The HyHaul programme has nonetheless proved what a fully integrated hydrogen HGV ecosystem could look like, combining infrastructure, supply, and vehicle solutions at scale.”
The company said the data, insights and market learning generated through the programme would inform future freight decarbonisation efforts in the UK.
Thanks to partners as programme closes
HyHaul Mobility closed its statement by thanking Innovate UK, the Department for Transport, consortium partners, employees and supply chain partners for their involvement.
“Your efforts have made a lasting contribution to the sector and will inform the next wave of hydrogen transport projects.”
The closure of ZEHID HyHaul brings to an end one of the UK’s most comprehensive hydrogen HGV demonstrations to date, highlighting the challenge of aligning fleet decision-making, infrastructure readiness and public funding timelines in the early stages of zero-emission freight deployment.
