Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt has visited an initiative by support services provider Carillion to test the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles for its commercial fleet.

Carillion has teamed up with the energy storage, clean fuel company ITM Power and has chosen its Portsmouth depot for the hydrogen on-site trial (HOST).

Under the week-long trial, two transit vehicles based at Carillion’s energy services depot in Portsmouth have been refuelled with hydrogen, generated on site using ITM Power’s transportable high pressure refuelling units (HFuel).

Mordaunt said: “As society makes the shift to more sustainable living it is vital that all energy users do what they can. Relatively high energy users should lead by example and I am delighted that this transport initiative is being delivered by a locally-based business.”

Graham Tidball, operational director for Carillion Energy Services, said: “At Carillion our commitment to sustainability and managing our impact on the environment is embedded right across the business.

“As part of this we are determined to lead the way in offering serious low carbon transport solutions for our clients. We view ITM’s HFuel technology as playing an important role, and we look forward to seeing the results of this trial and how we can develop our fuel efficient efforts further.”