Hyster on September 17 delivered the United Kingdom's first hydrogen fuel cell-powered ReachStacker into commercial operation at Forth Ports' Port of Tilbury, in Essex. The heavy container-handling truck is the first UK deployment of a non-diesel ReachStacker at this scale and follows roughly two years of joint development between Hyster, its dealer Briggs Equipment UK, and green hydrogen supplier GeoPura.
How The Powertrain Works
The ReachStacker pairs a 60 kW Nuvera fuel cell engine — Nuvera is a Hyster-Yale subsidiary — with a 130 kWh lithium-ion battery buffer. It carries 32 kg of hydrogen on board and refuels in under 30 minutes, giving it a duty cycle broadly comparable to the diesel truck it replaces. Hyster and Forth Ports expect the swap to avoid roughly 107,000 kg of CO2 annually per unit, an emissions delta that is meaningful for a port operator working to hit UK maritime decarbonization targets.
"Today is an important milestone... we are now delivering 100% green hydrogen-powered heavy lifting capability," said David Housden of the Port of Tilbury. Hyster president Lucien Robroek added the company is "looking forward to seeing the HFC-powered ReachStacker in action... supporting high-intensity port operations."
Where It Fits In A Wider Fleet Story
The Tilbury unit lands in the same week that UK hydrogen refueling infrastructure is scaling up, with FCS building the country's largest hydrogen HGV refueling station for the HyHAUL programme. It also follows headline deals to build heavy-duty hydrogen trucks by Toyota and IVECO under the EU-funded EMPOWER project and Toyota and Scania's 40-truck pilot in Europe. Together they suggest hydrogen's near-term commercial beachhead is not passenger cars but captive, high-utilization fleets: ports, HGVs, and logistics yards.
What To Watch
Hyster said it will use the Tilbury data to standardize hydrogen ReachStacker offers globally, and Nuvera is already scaling stack manufacturing after a U.S. Department of Energy grant last year. The next open question is refueling economics: cheap green H2 delivery to individual ports is still the bottleneck, and Forth Ports flagged that further orders will depend on GeoPura's ability to ramp hydrogen supply beyond a single site.
Reporting based on coverage from Hyster / GlobeNewswire, Forth Ports, and Renewable Energy Magazine.