UK technology company Johnson Matthey has unveiled plans to invest £80mn ($96mn) in a plant to produce 3GW/yr of components for proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells for hydrogen vehicles.

The facility, to be built at Johnson Matthey’s Royston plant north of London, is expected to start up in the first half of 2024.

The project is supported by the UK government through its Automotive Transformation Fund.

“The fuel-cell market has now reached a pivotal moment with the increasing urgency to decarbonise transportation, and today marks the next step of the journey to a low-carbon future in the UK. We are delighted to be playing a key role in driving it forward,” says Liam Condon, Johnson Matthey CEO.

3GW/yr – Facility’s production capacity

The Royston site has the potential for further expansion of capacity, the company says.

Earlier this year, Condon led a major strategy review aimed at generating sales of more than £200mn from hydrogen technologies for Johnson Matthey by the end of 2024/25.

To execute the strategy, the company brought in a new senior management team including former BP executive Mark Wilson as CEO of the hydrogen technologies division.

The strategy review follows the sale last year of the bulk of the battery materials division, for which the company cited poor returns.

In April, Johnson Matthey secured a £400mn UK government-backed loan to support its push into green hydrogen and issued €315mn ($320mn) of sustainability-linked private placement notes.

The company has already previously pledged to invest £1bn in clean hydrogen research, development and deployment technologies.

---

Author: Stuart Penson