Barhale and Flannery have teamed up with JCB to host first in-field testing of the equipment manufacturer’s revolutionary hydrogen-powered backhoe loader.

The trial took place at Lower Penn, a Severn Trent Water project on the outskirts of Wolverhampton that includes the construction of a storage tank and a two kilometre pipeline to prevent water spillages into the local watercourse.

The 3CX, wearing a new green and white livery for hydrogen-powered vehicles instead of the JCB’s traditional yellow, delivered an excellent performance to the extent that experienced operator Lee Wilkinson from Flannery was unable to tell the difference from a diesel-powered machine.

According to Barhale Site Manager Harley Taylor, the new machine performed well in every task.

“The backhoe has been loading muck-away wagons, cleaning up the compound area and moving materials from the storage area over to the work area,” he said. “It’s been giving exactly the same outputs as we would have been expecting from a diesel machine.”

The trial demonstrated hydrogen’s potential as a viable fuel alternative. The 3CX delivered the same performance, power, and productivity as traditional diesel models, even on a remote site with limited power supply.

Luana Bills, Social Impact and Sustainability Manager at Barhale outlined hydrogen’s potential as part of achieving the business’s carbon reduction aims.

“We feel hydrogen is a technology that will help us lower our operational carbon emissions without impacting on productivity and efficiency,” she said. “As a responsible business, our journey to our 2040 net zero target is an integral part of our strategy.

“We have seen a 25% reduction in our overall carbon footprint but hydrogen really has the potential to take it further – not just for us but also for the wider industry.”