15th July 2024
Hydrogen Scotland member TCP Group have reached the milestone of operating a fleet of 500 hydrogen fuel-cell mobile lighting towers available to hire, with the support of a fully managed service. The TCP Ecolite TH-200 hydrogen lighting towers are replacing traditional diesel-powered lighting towers, with remanufacturing hundreds of their diesel-powered lighting towers to use hydrogen fuel-cells and gas cylinders. providing the same lighting performance with the benefits of zero-emissions and much lower noise levels.
Gareth Holden, TCP Scotland Manager, said, “It’s great that our fleet of hydrogen lighting towers is growing at pace now. The towers are becoming increasingly popular for off-grid filming, events and major construction projects in Scotland. The light is natural and they are perfect for filming as they are completely silent.”
Joe Ambor and Jim Irvine with some of TCP’s Ecolite hydrogen fuel cell lighting towers
Jim Irvine, Operations and Development Director at TCP Group, added: “The TCP Ecolite TH200 (hydrogen fuel-cell mobile lighting tower) is an increasingly popular choice where temporary lighting is required and as companies look for clean energy solutions to reduce carbon emissions. We have an ever-growing demand for this particular lighting tower, and we committed to the provision of 500 towers by July 2024. With large infrastructure projects moving forward, such as Sizewell C and the Lower Thames Crossing, this temporary lighting solution is the No.1 choice, as they are silent running, no spill risk and zero emission at point of use.”
Many of TCP’s customers have already benefitted from deploying hydrogen fuel-cell lighting towers. Back in 2015, Costain used them on the Cross Rail project, and they were used for much of the HS2 project. TCP Group works regularly with the Environment Agency, in partnership with Jackson Civil Engineering, to provide clean energy solutions for works such as lock repairs.
Joe Ambor, Sales Director at TCP Group, explained the environmental benefits from remanufacturing TCP’s legacy diesel gen-sets: “We have steadily grown the fleet of hydrogen mobile lighting towers in recent years. As a company faithful to recycling where possible, we have remanufactured hundreds of our diesel-powered lighting towers to use hydrogen fuel-cells and gas cylinders. Our added value is to provide a fully managed gas service. Gas usage is monitored remotely and when a hydrogen gas cylinder needs exchanging, the TCP team make arrangements with the customer to replace the empty cylinder with a full one and then take the empty one away.”.
TCP Group has always had a focus on the effects on health with issues caused by diesel emissions. A partnership was formed with Hydrogen Scotland member BOC in 2010, to replace diesel fuel with hydrogen fuel-cells in lighting towers to transform lighting solutions for site operations. The silent running of the hydrogen fuel cell makes them better neighbours, along with fewer health dangers to site workers whilst helping to drive against climate change.
The hydrogen fuel-cell lighting towers are fitted with Prismalence lenses. These unique lenses create controlled light distribution meaning the uniformity is far superior than other competitors. Artificial lighting can have a negative effect on health and can cause fatigue, headaches and even stress symptoms. The Prismalence lenses have low glare, good visibility, good colour rendering and no flickering. Consequently, the light frequency is a much more comfortable light to work by, increasing employee wellbeing and jobsite safety.
About TCP Group: Founded in 1989 by Andrew Barker (the current Managing Director), TCP Group started out as a plant hire company, but always with a drive to find cleaner fuel solutions. TCP Group has spent the last decade investing in research and development to expand the Eco side of the business. Hydrogen-powered generators, sentry boxes, CCTV and security monitoring systems are some of the applications that TCP Group has developed over recent years and by using hydrogen, it removes at least 80% of emissions, compared to diesel fuel.
TCP Group is headquartered in Maldon, Essex and has depots across the country with the Scottish depot in Falkirk. TCP Group offer initial consultation and expertise to provide guidance to help reduce carbon emissions and offer best options for lighting and power in the most efficient way. TCP Group is also about to launch a range of training courses for customers to understand how hydrogen-based equipment can help with their own sustainability credentials.