Johnson Matthey PLC (LSE:JMAT) is to build an £80mln gigafactory at its existing site in Royston, UK to scale up the manufacture of hydrogen fuel cell components.
Capable of manufacturing 3GW of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell components annually for hydrogen vehicles, the new plant is being supported by the UK government through the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF), managed by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).
Road freight meanwhile, accounts for about 9% of global CO2 emissions, with 62% arising from medium and heavy-duty trucking and a switch to hydrogen vehicles is seen as a key component in hitting the country's carbon emission targets.
Britain is forecast to need 14GW of fuel cell stack production and 400,000 high-pressure carbon fibre tanks annually to meet local vehicle production demands by 2035, said Johnson Matthey, which is targeting more than £200mln sales in Hydrogen Technologies by the end of 2024/25.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: "This investment, backed by the government, is a major vote of confidence from Johnson Matthey in the UK."
Ian Constance, chief executive of the APC, added: "This is incredibly significant and puts the UK in an enviable position in the global fuel cell supply chain.
“Our insight forecasts that the UK could dominate European fuel cell production and be a centre of excellence globally and today's announcement is a huge step towards realising that ambition.
"We already have 15% of the fuel cell value chain radiating from UK businesses but this could be as much as 65% just by expanding on current strengths in electrochemistry and coatings or using our automotive capability to volume manufacture components.”