The Green Miles’ nine question decarbonisation challenge – Nick Shelley

Element 2 sells hydrogen to help decarbonise all modes of UK transport and is building a national refuelling network. They have a passion for clean safe energy.

Nick Shelley has over 25 years international experience in the energy industry working with natural gas, diesel, petrol, biofuels with Mobil and Esso, then the last three years with Element 2 in hydrogen. He has spent over 15 years selling fuels to commercial customers and transport fleets.

9. What are the biggest common sustainability challenges facing the whole logistics sector in your opinion ?

Yes, there are challenges, but I believe all can be overcome with supportive legislation, planning and working closely across industry:

Cost – the energy transition must be affordable and fair for the logistics sector.

Speed – we need to go faster to reduce emissions. Our mindset needs to change from demonstration to deployment. Every emission counts.

Legislation – it needs to be joined up covering supply, infrastructure, vehicles and demand.

Communication – clear and consistent messaging to the public and logistics sector, not confusing. The issues and solutions need to be explained.

8. A lot of people do not even really know what hydrogen is, it isn’t talked about as much as electrification?

Hydrogen is the most energy dense and abundant chemical element in the universe and is a very light gas. There are various ways of producing hydrogen and we target local sustainable hydrogen. We sell as a compressed gas under established safety standards. Safety is extremely important to us. Hydrogen can be made in the UK which has significant energy security benefit, as well as driving jobs and economic growth.

It can be used in a device called a fuel cell which turns hydrogen into electrical energy or burned directly in a combustion engine.

The advantage of hydrogen is that it enables similar operations to diesel (refuelling time, range, payload, vehicle and driver uptime), but with zero emissions. The logistics sector and vehicle manufacturers are increasingly looking at hydrogen, alongside battery electric, as the limitations of battery electric vans and trucks become clearer.

Hydrogen can play a major role in the energy transition, but current costs are deemed too high. However costs can come down significantly with scale, just as any new technology (e.g. wind turbines, solar panels, batteries), but we need to get started – UK production, refuelling infrastructure, transport vehicles and customers.

7. So, what are the hottest topics in decarbonisation for the HGV sector?

The hottest topics are the scale and speed required for HGV decarbonisation. There are over 500,000 registered HGVs on the UK roads and only a few hundred battery electric HGVs – the challenge is huge and we need a realistic approach.

We need to focus on decarbonisation, not just electrification. All technologies are required for an effective transition – battery electric, hydrogen (fuel cell and combustion), biogas, HVO, biofuels and probably more. Commercial vehicle needs and capability to charge are very different for fleets. Each fleet will decide what is the best fuel for their vehicles and operations.

If a truck can be parked up at night, daily vehicle usage and payload are within vehicle capability, then battery electric can make operational sense. However, many fleets are run on a 24/7 basis, multiple driver shifts and high daily vehicle mileage of over 500 miles. In addition, I hear fleet managers say securing more power to their depots will take years and cost many millions. They remark, “How am I supposed to have battery electric trucks?”

I drive an electric car, it’s great, but I would not want to run a 24/7 logistics operation with it.

6. What are the specific challenges faced by the different modal sectors ?

We see HGVs as the sweet spot for hydrogen, but we have received much interest from van fleets who require public charging, as the cost of paying a driver or skilled engineer to sit and charge has significant operational, revenue and cost implications – we expect similar future concerns with electric HGVs.

For rail, we refuel a Vanguard/Porterbrook hydrogen rail locomotive and understand there is much potential for railway lines which are too expensive to electrify and freight trains which are heavy and travel long distances.

For maritime, the expectation is for small local vessels to be battery electric but medium and long-distance vessels to use hydrogen in various formats – gas, liquid, ammonia or methanol.

Ports are huge energy demand centres for transport, shore power, operations, rail and neighbouring industry. Many ports are at the end of electricity networks so are grid constrained which is a concern – hydrogen can help.

Aviation needs to be sustainable, and hydrogen can be used in the manufacturer of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), plus potentially power planes in the future.

Element 2 can supply all transport sectors – and we can do so reliably and safely.

5. What are the best examples of positive breakthroughs you’ve seen in the last decade?

Hydrogen fuel cell and combustion technology are both good examples.

Fuel cell vehicles are battery powered but instead of plugging in the battery to charge, it is powered by hydrogen gas via a fuel cell. The only tailpipe emission is water vapour. Major manufacturers like Toyota and Hyundai have existing vehicles, whilst others like Scania, Volvo, DAF, Daimler and BMW are testing future vehicles.

Hydrogen combustion is deemed a “no brainer “ by many and can help a faster and more affordable energy transition. Combustion technology has been around since 1807, and the engine cost is expected to be only slightly more than a diesel engine. The European Union classifies hydrogen combustion as zero emission technology; the UK does for off-road but not road use. MAN, Volvo, DAF, JCB, Bosch and Cummins are all promoting this technology.

Hydrogen refuelling technology has also been a positive breakthrough. There are over 150 hydrogen refuelling sites on the continent, over 750 sites in Asia but only a few in the UK. Our first permanent sites will be at Teesside International Airport and in Glasgow next year.

4. Who is an inspirational figure in logistics decarbonisation?

I have been impressed with Karin Rӓdström, who is the Daimler Truck CEO. She has been very active in promoting a pragmatic view of decarbonisation, with the need for both electric and hydrogen HGVs, and zero emission infrastructure planning. She also drives HGVs.

We need to crack the current “chicken and egg” situation with network planning and close collaboration with vehicle manufacturers and logistic companies.

3. How do logistics companies deal with first mover hesitancy?

Embracing decarbonisation and learning at an early stage is likely to have commercial and operational benefits. I believe doing nothing is a commercial risk, as end customers or cities may increasingly request non-diesel deliveries.

The British Retail Consortium’s climate roadmap target for zero carbon light duty transport is 2030, and 2035 for heavy duty, so not far away. All new vans must be zero emission from 2035 and HGVs <26 tonnes, and then all HGVs from 2040.

Transport fleets need to get involved. If we start now, then hydrogen vehicle prices are expected to come down by the time fleets invest in large numbers of vehicles.

Funding helps accelerate any new technology. However, more important is a roadmap and clear legislation for the energy transition. Batteries are going to play a major role, but we expect hydrogen to have long term a 20-30% market share in commercial transport.

If hydrogen took a 1% market share by 2030, that would be 5,000 HGVs and we would have momentum. We believe we can get to diesel price parity by early 2030s but we need to get going. Hydrogen is a scale game. People are tied up with the current economics of hydrogen. They need to look at what it could be in five years’ time.

2. What does 2026 look like for logistics to decarbonisation?

Hydrogen still needs to get started in the UK and play its role. We are probably two to three years behind the European Union and at least five years behind China and South Korea.

From an Element 2 perspective, we are launching permanent refuelling sites at Teesside International Airport and in Glasgow with John G Russell Transport, both programmes with Innovate UK and Department for Transport funding. IVe, a hydrogen van manufacturer, is also a project partner.

At our previous demonstration refuelling sites, customers liked the hydrogen vehicles but said the refuelling experience was too slow. Our new permanent sites can refuel a truck in 10-15 minutes, a van in three to five minutes and a car in two to three minutes, which is similar to diesel.

We are also part of National Gas’ Future Grid project which is testing hydrogen deblending in gas pipelines. This is exciting as having hydrogen in pipelines can significantly reduce transport costs and enable UK wide coverage.

Element 2 is always open to investment discussions as finance enables us to build infrastructure and help decarbonise transport faster. The more finance, the quicker we can go.

My wish for the UK logistics industry in 2026 is for clearer legislation and joined up planning – supply, infrastructure, vehicles and customer demand.

1. You are Prime Minister for one day – you can change one thing. What would it be?

I would ask all my departments their 2030 decarbonisation plans, how they can go more quickly and the positive benefits for the UK. 2050 net zero is too far away and promotes complacency. We need to focus on five-year increments – what is required by 2030 and 2035 ?

The Prime Minister must convince the nation that the energy transition makes sense and is necessary. As well as sustainability benefits, there are advantages to people, air quality, jobs, economy and energy security – hydrogen can play a major role.

Element 2 looks forward to supplying hydrogen to all forms of transport and helping UK Logistics customers through the energy transition. We invite logistics companies to get in contact. Let’s work together and make this happen!