BOC, an industrial gases and engineering business in the North East, is doubling the capacity of a hydrogen trailer filling station facility over increasing demand for the renewable fuel.

Based on Teesside, the unit compresses hydrogen gas into specially constructed road-trailer pumps for distribution. The Teesport facility was built initially to meet demand in the North East but the additional capacity from the upgrade will allow it to meet growing demand from customers around the UK.

Mike Huggon, Managing Director of BOC in the UK and Ireland said: “Some of the most exciting developments at present are in the creation of a sustainable, hydrogen-based economy. The expansion of the Teesside hydrogen trailer facility will enable us to reach more customers and service these developments.”

A member of The Linde Group, BOC is a major supplier of hydrogen to businesses across the UK. In September it opened the UK’s first open-access hydrogen vehicle refuelling station in Swindon.

Hydrogen can be used as an alternative fuel for transport and produces only water as a byproduct.