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Introduction

Non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) is a broad category that includes vehicles such as, but not limited to, diggers, mobile cranes and other construction machinery.

NRMM manufacturers have identified hydrogen as a potential means of decarbonising parts of the NRMM sector where battery electric power is not practical.

±á²â»å°ù´Ç²µ±ð²Ô-±è´Ç·É±ð°ù±ð»åÌýNRMM and agricultural vehicles, such as tractors, cannot currently be used on public roads without an exemption, known as a vehicle special order (VSO). Manufacturers have highlighted this as a barrier to the wider uptake of low emission and zero emission NRMM.

We sought views on whether we should enable hydrogen-powered NRMM and agricultural vehicles to be used on the roads. This consultation closed on 3 May 2024.  

The consultation asked 6 open ended questions about our proposals.  

Responses to the questions raised some important points to consider on retrofitting, hydrogen safety and the inclusion of other gaseous fuels within the amendment.  

Overall, the responses were supportive of enabling the road use of hydrogen-powered NRMM and agricultural vehicles. 

A total of 33 responses were received. Of these, 8 were from manufacturers and 11 were from representative bodies. The remainder were from private individuals, potential end users of the machinery and other organisations.

Table 1: number of responses by responder category

Category of responder	Number of responses
Manufacturers	8
Representative bodies	11
End users	4
Private individual	5
Other	5

We are grateful for the considered evidence and opinions submitted in response to this consultation. 

Summary of responses 

Question 1

Do you agree with enabling the road use of hydrogen-powered NRMM and agricultural vehicles? 

All 33 responses were in favour of this proposed amendment to enable road use.  

The responses received: 

• suggested the potential for hydrogen to provide an option for decarbonising this equipment, which suffers from specific challenges such as the nature of the machinery and the environment in which they operate
• highlighted that market leaders in this industry reside within the UK, putting the country in a good position to encourage the increased uptake and market growth for this equipment

Questions 2 and 3 

Do you agree in limiting the amendment to allow only new machinery powered by hydrogen? 

Should we consider options to enable the safe retrofit of NRMM and agricultural vehicles to operate on hydrogen in future? 

There was an overlap between the responses for questions 2 and 3. Therefore, they have been considered together. 

Twenty-four responses supported retrofitting either now or in the future, although stipulating the need for stringent safety requirements to be put in place first. The overall sentiment was to not delay or withhold the new hydrogen vehicles from entering the market in the meantime.

However, 8 responders expressed the concern that delaying retrofitting from being permitted would slow down the adoption rate of hydrogen technology and overall progress to net zero. Their main concerns were that it would not allow businesses to decarbonise their existing fleet or try hydrogen on a smaller scale before investing in costly new machinery. 

Three responders were entirely against retrofitting due to concerns that they would not be within scope of relevant safety legislation, such as the , or have the necessary conformity of production controls to ensure safe use of hydrogen. 

Question 4

Do you agree our approach to ensuring hydrogen safety is sufficiently covered in this amendment? 

Responses to this question were fairly evenly split with an overall majority in favour of our suggested route to ensuring hydrogen safety.  

Amongst manufacturers generally, the majority were supportive of using  as we had proposed. However, amongst larger manufacturers and main trade bodies, roughly half were against using this action for NRMM although generally, all were supportive of using the use UNECE regulation no. 134 for tractors. 

Those manufacturers and trade bodies that disagreed with our proposed approach questioned how NRMM could be approved through the UNECE regulation. This is due to the scope of the regulation being limited to conventional road vehicles. One respondent suggested that the limited use of NRMM on the road network did not pose any more safety risks than those already accounted for in the current requirements applicable to NRMM with pressure equipment.  

For those not supporting our proposed approach on ensuring hydrogen safety, responses typically favoured reliance on the use of the Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016.  

Question 5 

Do you agree with the proposed categories of vehicles (as defined in (C&U), which will be the subject of the amendment? 

27 participants supported our use of the existing C&U categories, 3 provided no opinion and 3 suggested additional or alternate options. 

Question 6 

Are there other gaseous fuels that we should be seeking to enable road use for NRMM and agricultural vehicles? 

A number of respondents suggested the proposed amendment should not be restricted to hydrogen, but also include other gaseous fuels that could be used in NRMM or agricultural machinery. The most frequently suggested was compressed natural gas, by both manufacturers and trade bodies. All of the other gases suggested are detailed in the table 2.

Some respondents suggested other gases but did not state they should have been included in the amendment, or suggested that multiple other gases are included. This is why the figures in the table are relatively large compared to the total number of responders.

Table 2: summary of gas suggestions

Gas type	Manufacturers suggestion amounts	Representative bodies suggestion amounts	End user suggestion amounts	Other suggestion amounts	Private individual amounts	Total suggested amounts
LPG	2	1	0	0	0	3
CNG (Methane)	4	4	1	0	0	9
Biogas (Methane)	1	1	1	1	0	4
Hythane	0	0	0	1	0	1
Dimethyl Ether	0	0	0	0	1	1

Government response 

Having considered the responses supplied, we have decided to proceed with updating the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 to allow the road use of hydrogen-powered NRMM and agricultural machinery.  

We are not taking forward the issues of retrofitting and allowing other gaseous fuels. The reasoning for this is due to the:

• complexity of both these issues
• desire from industry to allow hydrogen-powered NRMM on public roads as early as possible

Both topics, however, will remain under review.  

The gaseous fuels liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) were raised by responders. It is our understanding that these gases already have a path to approval and this has been discussed with manufacturers during further engagement. 

The route to ensuring hydrogen safety has been adapted to reflect the responses received to this consultation.

To avoid duplication of regulation on manufacturers, compliance to the Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 will be accepted for NRMM in place of compliance with parts 1 and 2 of UN regulation 134. These requirements will, however, remain for category T tractors.

A new schedule will be introduced within C&U to set out additional hydrogen safety requirements that must be met by both types of machinery. Schedule requirements will be based on part 3 of UN regulation 134 and cover the following safety risks:

1. Associated with incorporating a hydrogen storage system within machinery.
2. That may be encountered during road use.

We have worked closely with manufacturers to ensure that the requirements are appropriately adapted to off-road machinery where necessary.