ICL trials hydrogen engine-cleaning technology to cut truck emissions

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SPECIALITY chemicals manufacturer Industrial Chemicals Limited (ICL) has completed trials on technology that uses hydrogen to clean inside truck engines, which it says can help lower exhaust emissions.  Following trials at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedford, UK, ICL has signed a three-year contract with Engine Carbon Clean to deploy its technology, which uses hydrogen produced by electrolysis to remove carbon build-up from truck engines.

A subsidiary of Advanced Hydrogen Technologies, Engine Carbon Clean uses mobile electrolysers to produce hydrogen from tap water. Carbon buildup inside an internal combustion engine can then be washed away by injecting the hydrogen into the engine’s air intake, ejecting the carbon through the exhaust.  

This allows the engine to “breathe better”, according to CEO Ben Kattenhorn. ICL’s recent tests found that after two cleaning cycles emissions and fuel costs reduced by 7%. The technology was initially developed in the early 2010s to make racing cars more fuel efficient and can be applied to all internal combustion engines regardless of the fuel type. 

Kattenhorn said that ICL’s trial results were “very encouraging”, adding that the results could be improved further with two more engine cleans a year.   

ICL, which manufactures speciality chemicals including battery acid and caustic soda for sectors such as agriculture and food and drink, tested the cleaning technology on 30 trucks – around one third of the fleet at its West Thurrock facility in Essex. The company now plans to use the technology to clean engines in the remaining fleet at its six other sites across England and Wales. 

Greenest fleet

Transport contributes a significant proportion of ICL’s overall emissions. According to its latest sustainability report, road fuel accounted for 28% of its total 2024 emissions of 33,432 tCO2e. While overall emissions were down from 39,748 tCO2e in 2021, the proportion that came from road fuel was up from 22%. Reductions in carbon emissions have instead largely been driven by a decrease in emissions from electricity supply. ICL is targeting net zero upstream and direct emissions by 2030, while aiming for a 20% downstream emissions reduction by 2040.  

Steven Swaby, CEO of ICL, said the company aims to have the “greenest fleet in the UK” and that the contract with Engine Carbon Clean “goes a long way to supporting that”.