ULEMCo, the company pioneering the adoption of ultra-low emission hydrogen fuel in the UK, has commenced the most massive single deployment of hydrogen dual-fuel vehicles yet seen. The move follows an order secured with Scottish company James A Cuthbertson, to transform Glasgow City Council’s existing fleet and some new spreaders to be hydrogen enabled.
Thanks to Scottish Government funding through Transport Scotland, the work will see 20 spreaders / multi-purpose vehicles ready for use on the streets by next winter, providing a significant opportunity for a reduction in CO2 emissions.
Around half of the fleet of 20 vehicles will be converted to hydrogen dual-fuel, while the rest will be hydrogen enabled from the start. Based on the spreaders’ regular duty cycles, around a third of the energy is expected to come from hydrogen, resulting in the same proportion of emissions being saved. The City Council is in the process of securing ‘green hydrogen’ for the fleet to refuel. It is also expected that other air quality emissions like NOx will be greatly reduced compared with the base vehicle; ULEMCo’s H2ICED technology ensures that hydrogen is used in the fuel mix when it can burn most efficiently, and with benefits to tailpipe emissions.
ULEMCo expects to deliver the vehicles in the coming months, where they will contribute immediately to cleaner air in the city.
ULEMCo has found a ready market for its hydrogen dual-fuel conversions in heavy-duty ‘back to base’ utility vehicles, where the practicality and cleaner performance are readily apparent. It is the first set of modifications for spreader trucks and is the company’s largest volume order to date. Deploying fleets of hydrogen vehicles in this way builds the base load for hydrogen infrastructure investment, as well as saving large volumes of CO2. It helps to create a market for hydrogen fuel that will make it easier for other local authorities and businesses to switch to cleaner energy.
‘The environmental impact of large diesel-powered utility vehicles is very high in city centres,’ says Amanda Lyne, Managing Director of ULEMCo. ‘We are delighted to support Glasgow City Council in its ambition to become Britain’s first zero net carbon city, and help to ensure that its entire fleet of 2000 vehicles is carbon-free by the end of the decade.’
‘We see this development as part of a wider roll-out of hydrogen-fuelled fleets across the country, and are pleased that our first such order is with a local authority so close to our factory in Biggar,’ said Ewan Tolson, Sales Manager at Cuthbertson. ‘Our long history and experience of designing and manufacturing specialist highways-vehicle bodywork combines well with ULEMCo’s specialist expertise in deploying hydrogen fuel systems – creating a completely UK-manufactured solution.’
