Speedy Hire and AFC Energy have launched their joint venture hiring out hydrogen-powered generators.
AFC Energy’s H-Power generatorSpeedy Hydrogen Solutions Limited (SHS), a 50:50 joint venture between Speedy and AFC,has been set up with £2.5m funding from each company to purchase 30kw H-Power generators from AFC Energy.
The first of these systems are expected to be available later this year. The plans is to build up inventory as market demand grows.
Plans for the joint venture were initially announced in July. The plan at that time was to invest just £3m, not the £5m that they are now putting in.
SHS will provide a full-service hire model co-ordinating the generator equipment, maintenance, technical support and telematics monitoring, site preparation and fuelling to Speedy and its customers. The H-Power generators will be available for hire in the UK and Ireland exclusively from SHS through Speedy for an initial three-year period.
SHS will also generate income from the procurement and on-sale of hydrogen to Speedy customers, as well as providing ancillary and engineering support to those customers not familiar with the adoption of hydrogen fuelled generators as part of their move to a more sustainable off-grid power solution.
The H-Power generators are being designed to work alongside battery storage units supplied from Green Power Hire, a company recently acquired by Speedy.
A minimum order quantity is set out in a supply and maintenance agreement (SMA) between AFC Energy and SHS, which increases annually, in order for SHS to maintain exclusivity in the UK and Ireland. The minimum order quantity is phased over three years, with potential for further growth to meet customer demand at the time.
Under the SMA, SHS commits to an initial £2m order from AFC Energy, for delivery throughout the first six months of 2024, with the intention to increase orders up to £4.7m by November 2024. Speedy Hire chief executive Dan Evans said: "Our JV with AFC Energy further strengthens our market leadership in combining product innovation and sustainability solutions that are increasingly critical and in demand from our customers. We continue to make progress in the delivery of our ambitious plan to be a net zero business by 2040 and, together with other recently announced developments like the acquisition of Green Power Hire, provide strong and unique evidence of our Velocity strategy in action."
AFC Energy chief executive Adam Bond said: "We have every confidence that the JV will support the UK and Irish construction sector's transition away from diesel towards its ambitious decarbonisation targets and represents a game changer in the way sustainable off-grid power is delivered to industry. With strong interest already evidenced from contractors and at industry events, we expect this venture to now raise the bar in sustainable off-grid power."