H2Rescue Truck Smashes World Record With 1,806 Miles On A Single Hydrogen Fill!
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the sub-heading.
H2Rescue Truck Sets New World Record in Hydrogen Transportation
These first two paragraphs add more detail.
A groundbreaking milestone in hydrogen-powered transportation has been achieved by the H2Rescue truck, a prototype heavy-duty vehicle capable of addressing energy challenges during disaster relief. Built by Accelera (a division of Cummins), with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other federal agencies, the truck recently achieved a Guinness World Record by traveling an astonishing 1,806 miles on a single fill of hydrogen fuel.
What makes this feat remarkable is the environmental implications of the technology. While a traditional internal combustion engine would have emitted 664 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the same distance, the hydrogen-fueled H2Rescue truck produced zero CO2 emissions. Hydrogen-powered vehicles like this one exemplify cutting-edge innovation in decarbonizing transportation.
This last paragraph describes the use of the vehicle in emergencies.
More than just a long-distance performer, the H2Rescue truck is an essential tool during emergencies. It can provide 25 kilowatts of power for critical relief operations, such as lighting, medical equipment, and communication systems, for up to 72 hours without refueling. This capability could make a significant difference in disaster zones, where reliable energy sources are often scarce.
Cummins are certainly serious about the innovative use of hydrogen.
UK Investment Summit Latest: Starmer Announces £1.1bn Expansion Of Stansted Airport
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
The Times has this sub-heading about Stansted
Analysis: Stansted Deal Prioritises Growth Over Climate
There are four paragraphs of analysis.
Over the weekend, Sir Keir Starmer made clear that his commitments to boost workers’ rights would not get in the way of his desire to bring in cash from the owners of P&O. As ministers now trumpet a deal to upgrade Stansted airport, it seems that growth and jobs also trump concerns about emissions.
Louise Haigh, the transport secretary who prompted the row with DP World by calling P&O a “rogue operator”, praised the Stansted deal as a “clear signal that Britain is open for business”. She argued that Stansted could be upgraded “while also meeting our existing environment obligations”, with the airport promising a new solar farm to generate electricity. But environmentalists will be dismayed by the prospect of more plane journeys and associated emissions.
The deal also raises fresh questions about a third runway at Heathrow after years of dithering under the Conservatives. No 10 has previously said it is “not opposed” to expansion if it can meet tests on emissions, climate change, noise pollution — and growth.
Starmer has said he will not duck decisions because they are “too difficult”. A decision on Heathrow offers a very clear test of that promise.
Is Hydrogen The Reason For The Choice Of Stansted?
I wonder if the choice of Stansted for expansion is down to the likelihood, that East Anglia will be a big centre for the generation of zero-carbon green and pink hydrogen, with gigawatts of offshore wind farms for the green and nuclear at Sizewell for the pink.
Aircraft of the future will surely need hydrogen for flying to their destinations.
Already, the massive construction of Sizewell C is going to be performed using zero-construction methods involving electricity and hydrogen, as far as is possible.
Large construction at Stansted Airport could be done in a similar manner, using perhaps a hydrogen pipeline between Sizewell and Stansted running along the A 14. This would probably be built anyway, so that East Anglia’s large numbers of heavy trucks could be converted to hydrogen.
Already the hydrogen buses to bring workers to the Sizewell C site have been ordered from Wrightbus in Ballymena.
Airbus, are planning to have their hydrogen-powered Boeing 737/A 320-size airliner in service by the mid-2030s. From visualisations released by Airbus, the Zeroe hydrogen Turbofan looks very much like a redesigned version of the current A320 neo, with two hydrogen turbofans (hopefully with RR on the side!) Converting an existing proven airliner, only means that the new parts need to be certified, so this would bring the plane into service quicker.
Airbus’s infographic shows the Zeroe hydrogen Turbofan will seat up to 200 passengers and have a range of 2,000 nautical miles or 3,700 km.
Discover the three zero-emission concept aircraft known as ZEROe in this infographic. These turbofan, turboprop, and blended-wing-body configurations are all hydrogen hybrid aircraft.
A typical A 320 neo will fly 165 passengers up to 3,500 nautical miles or 6.500 km.
A few distances from Stansted include.
- Athens – 2,400 km.
- Berlin – 905 km.
- Cairo – 3514 km.
- Copenhagen 913 km.
- Dublin – 470 km.
- Edinburgh – 509 km.
- Gander 3,800 km
- Geneva – 760 km.
- Glasgow – 540 km.
- Istanbul – 2480 km.
- Madrid – 1300 km.
- Milan – 960 km.
- Munich – 909 km.
- Palma de Mallorca – 1,400 km.
- Reykjavík – 1870 km.
- Rome – 1,442 km.
- Stockholm – 1,400 km.
- Tel-Aviv – 3,564 km.
- Tenerife North – 2944 km.
- Tenerife South – 2999 km.
- Warsaw 1,412 km.
These distances would mean, a lot of current European destinations could be reached, if the plane were filled at both airports, but a surprising number of popular places could be reached by only refuelling at Stansted.
It also appears to me, that with refuelling in Iceland and perhaps a stopover, in that delightful and different country, zero-carbon flights across the Atlantic would be possible.
If a hydrogen-powered aircraft has the 3,700 km. range that Airbus are promising, it will be an aircraft with a lot of possibilities!
Short Flights
- Amsterdam – 541 km.
- Cardiff – 253 km.
- Exeter – 284 km.
- Jersey – 344 km.
- Liverpool – 264 km.
- Newcastle – 373 km.
- Newquay – 399 km.
- Ronaldsway – 408 km.
- Southampton – 151 km.
Some of these flights would be competing with trains.
Flights Around The British Isles
One of the longest flights around the British Isles would be between Stansted and Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Isles.
But this is only 894 kilometres, so a return trip would be possible.
I also feel that arranging hydrogen refuelling on Shetland will not be a difficult task, as the islands are likely to have copious supplies of green hydrogen.
Flights From Stansted To Europe
Applying a ten percent reserve probably means a safe one-way range of around 1,700 km.
This would mean that.
- Amsterdam – 541 km.
- Berlin – 905 km.
- Copenhagen – 913 km.
- Madrid – 1300 km.
- Milan – 960 km.
- Munich – 909 km.
- Palma de Mallorca – 1,400 km.
- Rome – 1,442 km.
- Stockholm – 1,400 km.
- Warsaw 1,412 km.
Should all be in range. of an out-and-back flight, after fully fuelling the plane at Stansted Airport.
Others like.
- Athens – 2,400 km.
- Bucharest – 2070 km.
- Cairo – 3514 km.
- Istanbul – 2480 km.
- Lisbon – 1630 km.
- Malta – 2107 km.
- Marrakech – 2350. km.
- Sofia – 2010 km.
- Tel-Aviv – 3,564 km.
- Tenerife North – 2944 km.
- Tenerife South – 2999 km.
Could be handled by refuelling at the destination.
Hopping Across The Atlantic
Consider.
- My great aunt Beatrice used to fly the Atlantic in the 1950s, although it was usually a succession of small hops between Heathrow Shannon and Gander Airports. I think she regularly used ships like the Queen Mary and Elizabeth, as she found them less stressful.
- Icelandair offer short stopovers in Reykjavik and I suspect they will offer this with hydrogen-fuelled aircraft.
- British Airways used to offer a London City Airport to New York flight via Shannon using an Airbus A 318.
I would certainly be interested to hop across from Stansted to New York in a hydrogen-powered aircraft, and I suspect others would do it for the environmental brownie points.
Legs could be.
- Stansted and Reykjavík – 1870 km.
- Reykjavík and Gander – 2568 km
- Gander and New York – 1767 km.
A stop could possibly be squeezed in at Boston.
It could be an interesting way to cross the Atlantic.
Hydrogen Production In East Anglia
I said earlier that East Anglia could produce a lot of zero-carbon green and prink hydrogen from wind and nuclear and this would be used for the following.
- Aviation out of Stansted and Southend Airports.
- Shipping out of the Port of Felixstowe, London Gateway and other smaller ports.
- Providing energy for heavy transport in East Anglia.
- Providing energy for Freeport East at Felixstowe and Harwich.
- Refuelling passing shipping.
- Supplying off-grid energy to rural properties and businesses in the East of England, which I wrote about in Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network.
Any spare hydrogen could always be sold to the Germans.
Decarbonisation Of The Railways In East Anglia
Undoubtedly, some hydrogen will be used to decarbonise some parts of East Anglia’s railways.
Many passenger trains are electrified, but some rural and cross-country services still use diesel. However, the Class 745 trains, that were built by Stadler for these services could be converted to hydrogen or battery-electric.
Similarly, locomotives that haul the freight trains out of the ports of East Anglia will be replaced with hydrogen or battery-electric locomotives.
I am fairly certain, that by 2040, all railways in East Anglia will be zero-carbon.
The East-West Rail Link
It is not known yet, whether the current government will continue to build the East West Rail Link, but it could be invaluable in connecting Stansted Airport to the West of England.
Connecting Stansted Airport To The North Of England and Scotland By Rail
If Stansted is developed as a zero-carbon airport, based on the new hydrogen-powered aircraft, travellers between say the North of England and Scotland, will surely want to travel to Stansted in a carbon-free manner.
So would it be sensible to run rail electric services between the North and Stansted?
Conclusion
Stansted could develop into the UK’s zero-carbon airport.
Cummins Debuts Integrated HELM Drivetrain At IAA
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on truckinginfo.com.
This is the sub-heading under a rather informative image.
Cummins’ integrated drivetrain offers fleets three powertrain options: advanced diesel, diesel-hybrid and zero-carbon hydrogen.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Cummins pulled the curtain back on a new integrated drivetrain concept at the IAA Transport Show in Hannover, Germany, on September 17. According to Jennifer Rumsey, Cummins chair and CEO, the newly designed drivetrain is based on the OE’s HELM engine platform. It is also intended to highlight Cummins’ broader product portfolio and continued commitment to providing flexible, sustainable power solutions.
The Cummins HELM engine platform is a fuel-agnostic series of engine versions that are derived from a common base.
The article could be called the Jennifer and Jane Show, after the two people, who provided most of the words.
When I was dealing with large American corporations in the last century, one lady would have been a rarity, but two at the top indicates how Cummins has turned itself into a sustainable company for the twenty-first century.
The Cummins Integrated Drivetrain Concept
The Cummins Integrated Drivetrain Concept is shown in a Cummins image in the trucking.info.com article.
- Up-front is a 15-litre internal combustion engine, which can be diesel, natural-gas or hydrogen-fueled.
- As Cummins manufacture fuel cells, I suspect that the motive power can be one or more hydrogen fuel cells.
- It looks like along each side of the truck are tanks for the hydrogen fuel cells.
- Between the tanks is a powerful electric motor, that drives the rear axle.
- The electric rear axle could incorporate batteries for regenerative braking and traction efficiency.
A vehicle of any size between a Fiat 500 and a 44-tonne articulated truck could use this integrated drivetrain concept, with components sized accordingly.
This is a paragraph from the trucking.info.com article.
Rumsey emphasized that Cummins’ acquisition of Meritor, Siemens Commercial Vehicles and Jacobs Vehicle Systems in recent years means Cummins can now offer full powertrain capability.
Don’t develop your own, if you can buy the best!
Siemens electric motors and Cummins diesel engines are used in London’s New Routemaster buses.
Could The Cummins Integrated Drivetrain Concept Be Used For A Small Car?
I don’t see why not?
Just watch the Koreans, who are going large on hydrogen.
Freightliner Offers Single Container Transport By ‘Carbon Reduced’ Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These two paragraphs explain the service.
Freightliner has launched its ECO90 booking service which enables customers of any size to reduce their carbon emissions by sending as little as one container on trains powered by alternative fuels.
The trains currently use hydrotreated vegetable oil, and Freightliner told Rail Business UK that other options could be available in the future, A certificate confirms that the fuel is fully traceable and from sustainable sources, and a Scope 3 carbon emissions report is provided.
It will be interesting to see if this service succeeds.
I suspect that in the future, the service’s biggest competitor will be the hydrogen-or electric- powered truck, which will offer an end-to-end zero-carbon service with minimal cargo handling.
It’s All Happening In Jamshedpur!
When I read this article on Hydrogen Fuel News, which is entitled Cummins And Tata Motors Ignite Change With H2 Internal Combustion Engines, I couldn’t resist using the jokey headline, which was inspired by the sub-heading.
The manufacturing has started in Jamshedpur, India at a new state-of-the-art facility
These two paragraphs give some more details.
The hydrogen internal combustion engines continuing to be produced at the facility are being integrated into Tata Motors trucks. This technology is being viewed as a promising zero- or low-carbon alternative to diesel power because of its powerful performance and substantial operating range.
Cummins’ B6.7H engines have notable similarities to current natural gas and diesel engines, particularly in terms of the components they contain. Moreover, they can fit in standard engine vehicles and require similar refueling times.
I first wrote about the Cummins B 6.7H engines in Cummins Shows Hydrogen Internal Combustion-Engined Concept Truck At IAA Transportation Exhibition, which I posted in September 2022.
I have these further thoughts.
Cummins B Series Engine
The Wikipedia entry for the Cummins B Series Engine, starts with these two paragraphs.
The Cummins B Series is a family of diesel engines produced by American manufacturer Cummins. In production since 1984, the B series engine family is intended for multiple applications on and off-highway, light-duty, and medium-duty. In the automotive industry, it is best known for its use in school buses, public service buses (most commonly the Dennis Dart and the Alexander Dennis Enviro400) in the United Kingdom, and Dodge/Ram pickup trucks.
Since its introduction, three generations of the B series engine have been produced, offered in both inline-four and inline-six configurations in multiple displacements.
Note.
- Cummins B Series is used in a wide variety of vehicles.
- It is available in both four and six cylinder versions.
But what Wikipedia doesn’t say, is that any Cummins’ customer will get the engine he wants for his application, even if it means creating a special version of the engine. Thirty years ago, I did a small data analysis job for Cummins in Darlington and on a tour of the works, I was given full details on how they treated customers. Cummins are not your average US company.
London’s Routemaster Buses
These buses are powered by a small four-cylinder version of the B-series engine, called a 4.5L ISB, which is described like this in Wikipedia.
The 4.5L ISB is essentially a four-cylinder, two-thirds version of the 6.7L ISB rated at 185 hp (138 kW), used in the New Routemaster, a series hybrid diesel-electric double-decker bus in London.
Note.
- Some diesel Range-Rovers, have more power, than these buses, but then they’re not hybrids.
- The engine also needs to be smaller, as it’s mounted under the back stairs.
Did Cummins’ special engine. allow the unique design of London’s Routemaster Buses?
Could London’s Routemaster Buses Be Converted To Hydrogen?
As an engineer and with my knowledge of Cummins’ design and manufacturing methods, I am fairly certain, if Cummins can manufacture six-cylinder versions of the B-Series engines, then four-cylinder hydrogen-powered engines are not far behind.
If London were to convert the thousand New Routemaster buses to hydrogen, there would be winners all round.
- Cummins would love the publicity and would probably benefit from increased sales of their hydrogen engines in vehicles like refuse trucks and small buses.
- It would surely give a route to convert older vehicles to hydrogen.
- The air in cities will improve.
But London has a problem, It is one of the few large cities in the world without readily-available hydrogen.
As this post illustrates and my Google searches show, India has a more advanced and scientifically-correct view on the usefulness of hydrogen.
Will Jaguar Land Rover Switch To Cummins’ Hydrogen Engines?
If Tata Motors make a success of hydrogen in India, it must make them think about adding hydrogen engines to Jaguar Land Rover products, specially as other manufacturers are getting serious about hydrogen.
Conclusion
Cummins will change the world for the better.
Sizewell C And Hydrogen
The Sizewell C web site has a page with a title of Hydrogen and SZC.
The page asks this question.
Why Does Sizewell C Want To Produce Hydrogen?
It gives this answer.
Nuclear is a great way of producing hydrogen as it generates huge amounts of reliable, low-carbon energy. Nuclear and hydrogen are also two clean technologies that can help us make big reductions in carbon emissions. While both technologies are vital on their own, at Sizewell C we have an exciting vision to bring them together.
The page is worth a read about how they will use the hydrogen, which will include.
- Providing Wrightbus hydrogen-powered buses to link the main construction site with Park-and-Ride sites on the A 12 at Darsham and Wickham Market.
- Powering vehicles and machinery on the main construction site.
- Supplying hydrogen to Freeport East.
- Refuelling hydrogen vehicles.
I have a few thoughts.
Supplying Hydrogen To Users
On my last stud farm, we had three fuel deliveries.
- Propane to heat the house.
- Red diesel to power the farm machinery.
- Road diesel to power the horse box and a couple of diesel cars, that went on the roads.
Note.
- Like most farms in East Anglia, we didn’t have mains gas.
- The local low-life of whom you never speak their name, used to regularly steal the diesel.
- We had two boilers, that ran on the propane.
- All farm vehicles and machinery will in the future use hydrogen.
- Propane and diesel would be replaced by clean hydrogen.
I believe companies like Centrica, will develop the technology so that farms and businesses could have their own hydrogen system, that would be topped-up accordingly, by road tankers, which themselves would be fuelled by hydrogen.
One set of tankers would be replaced by another zero-carbon set.
Sizewell sits on the Suffolk Coast and it appears, there will be a new road link to the A 12, which connects to Suffolk’s main road system.
This map shows Sizewell C and East Suffolk.
Note.
- The Sizewell site is outlined in pink on the coast, about halfway up the map.
- The A 12 road and the East Suffolk Line run almost parallel to the coast between Ipswich in the South and Lowestoft and Yarmouth in the North.
Energy use in East Suffolk would be transformed and all because there will be a plentiful supply of zero-carbon hydrogen.
Hydrogen And The Arts
Suffolk has been an artistic county for hundreds of years and some works of art, like casting bronzes, firing pottery or working with glass or wrought iron need a lot of energy. Local hydrogen networks supplied by tanker, as propane is now could help to decarbonise one of the most difficult of professions.
Pink Hydrogen
This page on the National Grid web site explains the various hydrogen colours.
It describes pink hydrogen like this.
Pink hydrogen is generated through electrolysis powered by nuclear energy. Nuclear-produced hydrogen can also be referred to as purple hydrogen or red hydrogen.
In addition, the very high temperatures from nuclear reactors could be used in other hydrogen productions by producing steam for more efficient electrolysis or fossil gas-based steam methane reforming.
I also call it Barbie hydrogen.
Sizewell C would be an ideal place to create pink hydrogen.
Before Sizewell C is up and running, the electrolyser at Sizewell could be powered by Sizewell B or even offshore wind.
MAN Expands Its Zero-Emission Portfolio
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from MAN.
This is the first paragraph.
Commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus will be the first European truck producer to launch a small series with a hydrogen combustion engine. The initially planned small series of around 200 units is to be delivered to customers in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland and selected non-European countries as early as 2025. The “MAN hTGX”, as the vehicle will be called, offers an alternative zero-emission drive variant for special applications, for example for transporting heavy goods – such as construction work, tank transport or timber transport. The hTGX can also be an environmentally friendly alternative to battery-electric trucks for use in areas without sufficient charging infrastructure or for markets where sufficient hydrogen is already available. MAN will hand over its battery-electric truck to customers for the first time in 2024 and scale it up from 2025. MAN has been the market leader for electric city buses in Europe since 2023.
Note.
- The hydrogen truck is based on the proven TG vehicles.
- The engine is a hydrogen version of one of their current diesel engines.
- The vehicle will satisfy the forthcoming EU regulations on carbon dioxide emissions.
- The maximum range is up to 600 kilometres, which would allow London and Edinburgh, provided there was a hydrogen supply at both ends.
- With hydrogen compressed to 700 bar (CG H2) and a tank capacity of 56 kg, the vehicle can be refuelled in less than 15 minutes.
This could be a very useful truck for the UK.
I See My First Modern 100 % Electric Truck
Where I live in Hackney, you see a lot of electric vans. Even the local deli has one.
But until yesterday, I don’t think I’ve seen a 100 % full-size electric truck, other than the famous Harrods delivery vans, which I can remember from the 1960s.
This was a sideview of the truck I saw.
Sadly, because I was trying to catch a bus, in the roadworks I described in How Not To Organise A Piss-Up In A Brewery, I was unable to take any more pictures.
This press release from Wincanton is entitled Wincanton Announces Multimillion-Pound Investment In Electric Vehicles For IKEA.
These three paragraphs give the full story.
Wincanton, a leading supply chain partner for UK business, today announces that it has made a multimillion-pound investment in electric vehicle technology to provide home delivery services for IKEA.
The investment has seen Wincanton purchase 30 electric home delivery vehicles, comprising of 10 16-tonne trucks and 20 vans, to support IKEA’s goal of reaching 100% zero emission last mile deliveries by 2025.
The new fleet is expected to save Wincanton 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, across just over 10,000 journeys per annum. The vehicles, supplied by Renault Trucks and Ford, will carry deliveries to the homes of IKEA customers across Greater London and the Southeast of England from Spring 2023.
I do feel though, that we’d see more zero-carbon trucks, if London could get its act together with hydrogen.
Should Hydrogen-Powered Trucks Pay A Lower Charge In The Silvertown And Blackwall Tunnels?
London has a lot of heavy diesel trucks, which include.
Cement mixer trucks.
Large eight-wheeler trucks transporting aggregate, building materials and construction spoil to and from construction sites.
Council refuse trucks.
Skip trucks.
Supermarket delivery trucks.
They are large polluters and the only way they will be made zero-carbon, will be to use hydrogen.
In Cummins Agrees To Integrate Its Hydrogen ICE Technology Into Terex® Advance Trucks, I write about how Cummins and Terex are going to be building hydrogen-powered cement mixers.
This picture shows the baby of the range, which could be ideal for a smaller country like the UK.
Note how it is the other way round to traditional cement mixer trucks.
As companies are now selling low-carbon concrete in the UK, I suspect, it won’t be long before they will be delivering it in a hydrogen-powered zero-carbon truck.
If hydrogen-powered trucks could be given an economic boost, by lowering their charges for the Silvertown And Blackwall Tunnels, this might increase their uptake by owners of large trucks, which would in turn reduce pollution.
But this would need the election of a London Mayor, who had a hydrogen policy other than ignore it and hope it goes away.
New Freight Interchange Connects To West Coast Main Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the sub-heading.
Rail passengers have been thanked after major work to connect a new rail to road freight interchange with the West Coast main line was completed.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
The work, which took nine days, saw new track, points and signalling systems installed to connect the existing railway to the new sidings at the under-construction freight facility at SEGRO logistics park in Northampton.
Once complete, the facility will provide 5 million square ft of warehouse space and employ up to 7,000 people.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the location of SEGRO logistics park in Northampton (SLPN).
Note.
- SEGRO logistics park in Northampton is in the middle of the map.
- The M1 motorway runs along the North-East side of the logistics park
- The complex junction of the M1 at the Eastern side of the logistics park is Junction 15.
- The orange line down the West side of SLPN is the Northampton Loop Line.
- A loop from the Northampton Loop Line is used to create a Rail Freight Interchange on the West side of the logistics park.
- The red line running across the South-West corner of the map is the West Coast Main Line.
The SEGRO logistics park has a comprehensive web site, which shows seven plots.
These are my thoughts.
Freight Trains
Initial plans talk of four freight trains per day, with more to come in the future.
This picture from Network Rail shows the Northern end of the Rail Freight Interchange.
Note.
- There is a freight train, which looks like it’s going North on the Northampton Loop Line.
- There are tunnels at the Northern end of the site.
- This page on the Network Rail web site has another picture and a video.
- It looks like there will be a lot of concrete.
It will be interesting to see the final layout in a year or so.
There Is No Mention Of A Rail Station
In everything I’ve read about the SLPN, there is no mention of a railway station, so this must mean that all the seven thousand or more workers on the site, will get there by road.
The only thing I can see about transport for workers to and from the site is this sentence.
A sustainable bus route will connect SLPN to the town centre and local neighbourhoods to the south.
Well-designed and implemented, it would properly suffice.
Nothing though is said about cycling or walking!
There Is No Mention Of Hydrogen
It is likely, that in the life of SLPN, there will be a significant move to hydrogen-powered heavy trucks.
Has SLPN been designed with hydrogen in mind.
Solar Thermal Heating
The buildings are noted as having solar thermal heating. That is a new one on me, but it seems possible.
I took these pictures as I passed the site on my return from Birmingham on September 21st 2023
One concrete tunnel is clearly visible.
The Anonymous Widower 