Huge funding for Zero-Emission Vehicles (Including Buses) for Great Britain and Northern Ireland

This week has seen some big news for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK Government have announced an investment of £54 million for projects to create new zero-emission vehicles.

From Gov.UK

• £54 million for projects including motorsport technology in car motors, hydrogen fuel cells for buses, and lightweight structures for electric heavy goods vehicles

• projects in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will secure nearly 10,000 jobs and save 45 million tonnes of CO₂

• investment will help drive energy-saving technology across a wide range of vehicles and propel forward a green economy recovery

New era for Wrightbus as Birmingham City Council orders double deck hydrogens - delivery commences for Aberdeen…

It’s been a year since Wrightbus went in to Administration and were taken over by Jo Bamford.

This week, there has been progress in Wrightbus with their double deck hydrogen rollout.

From Birmingham City Council News Release

Birmingham City Council has purchased 20 new hydrogen double decker buses as part of their Clean Air Hydrogen Bus Pilot.

The Clean Air Hydrogen Bus Pilot looks to ‘kick-start’ the hydrogen market as a viable zero-emission fuel with the procurement and deployment of 20 hydrogen buses in Birmingham. The buses, which are made by Wrightbus and are the world's first zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell double deckers, will be introduced with National Express West Midlands from April 2021.

It’s intended that pilot will be the catalyst for the next generation of hydrogen buses, hydrogen production and re-fuelling infrastructure development. The council have also collaborated with ITM, who will be producing and dispensing the hydrogen fuel from the new re-fuelling hub at Tyseley Energy Park.

TfL’s update with the double-deck hydrogen rollout

We have all heard the news of Jo Bamford purchasing Wrightbus, and now a Freedom of Information release has revealed the current situation with the double-deck hydrogen rollout for London bus services.

The FOI release from TfL has revealed details the contract for 20 double deck hydrogen buses hosted on the GOV.UK contract finder website.

Double Deck Hydrogen buses for Aberdeen, Scotland

As Liverpool and London authorities purchased double deck hydrogen buses for their services, the news has come that Aberdeen will be getting double deck hydrogen buses, jointly funded by Aberdeen City Council, European Union (FCH JU) and Scottish Government.

Extracts from Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking news release

The new additions to the hydrogen fleet will underline the city’s role as a pioneer in green energy.

The contract which was signed this month will deliver 15 city buses. The project has been funded by Aberdeen City Council, European Union (FCH JU) and Scottish Government with an investment of about £500k per vehicle, building on the initial research funding contributed by the Scottish Cities Alliance.