National hirer Speedy plans to launch a dedicated hydrogen-powered generator plant hire business to make off-grid electricity accessible to all contractors.

The hirer has struck a deal with hydrogen-powered generator expert AFC Energy to form a JV business that will provide a full-service hire model coordinating the generator equipment,  maintenance, technical support, site preparation and fueling.

It will use AFC Energy’s H-Power Generators launched last year, which use hydrogen fuel cell technology to generate electricity.

The JV will initially purchase 30kW H-Power Generators from AFC Energy for £2m.

The first of these systems are expected to be available later this year.

After this initial commitment, the JV will increase orders for H-Power Generators in line with the expected growing demand for zero emission power across the UK construction and temporary power market.

Dan Evans, Chief Executive, Speedy, said: “As a leader in product innovation and sustainability across the sectors we serve, we are pleased to announce our proposed collaboration with hydrogen experts AFC Energy to deliver scalable, modular zero emission power generators to the UK market.” 

Adam Bond, Chief Executive, AFC Energy, said: “The pressure to deliver zero emission power on construction sites here in the UK and overseas has seen strong growth in demand for AFC Energy’s H-Power Generators. Our collaboration with Speedy builds on the successful H-Power Tower launch last year and subsequent field-based deployments, many of whom are customers of Speedy, making our proposed collaboration all the more relevant.”