UK technology company ULEMCo, considered an expert in hydrogen-powered vehicles, has won a major contract from Aberdeen City Council (ACC) to convert commercial vehicles to its hydrogen-based dual-fuel technology. The contract will make the city the largest operator of a hydrogen fleet in the UK.
ULEMCo has previously supplied heavy-duty vehicles to ACC, which have been on the roads for over a year. This new order, part of a fleet-wide conversion commitment, includes more refuse collection vehicles and road sweepers, as well as a variety of other commercial vehicles such as tippers and tractors. ULEMCo regards this as proof of the flexibility of its H2ICED hydrogen dual fuel technology. The process can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40%, calculated on the entire fleet.
The company expects the converted vehicles to create significant demand for the region’s growing hydrogen hub, support Aberdeen City Council’s commitment to the hydrogen economy in the region and increase the need for skilled jobs. The contract will see the vehicles converted locally, both contributing to employment in Aberdeen and eliminating the need to transport the vehicles to Liverpool for conversion. Hydrogen hubs are seen as useful for aggregating demand, achieving economies of scale and making hydrogen a competitive solution for decarbonising fleet operations. Aberdeen Council has set out to make the city carbon neutral by 2045.
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Following an investment by Edinburgh-based angel investment consortium Equity Gap, and with Scotland’s national economic development agency Scottish Enterprise as a shareholder, ULEMCo sees Aberdeen and the rest of Scotland as key areas for investment in its conversion centre programme. The region is therefore important in supporting the rapid growth of hydrogen use, it said.
The contract will see client ACC focus on hard-to-decarbonise vehicles such as tractors and tippers, as well as converting more refuse trucks and road sweepers, rather than waiting for commercially available zero-emission vehicles, which are not expected for some time.
Amanda Lyne, managing director of ULEMCo, gave details of the order. She said the initial plan is to convert 35 vehicles over the next 18 months, with more in the pipeline. These are both existing vehicles from the city’s fleet and new vehicles that would run on normal fossil diesel fuel for their planned ten-year lifespan without the conversion now decided upon, she said. “The Council’s investment in our immediate solution will help create significant demand for hydrogen, which in turn will create a base demand for scaled investment for infrastructure providers to provide more refuelling facilities etc,” Lyne said.
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