New data implies that Aberdeen City Council spent almost 14 million GBP on its failed rollout of hydrogen buses.
Initially investigated & reported by STV News, figures show that the total cost of the fleet of 25 hydrogen vehicles was approximately 13.9 million GBP.
The buses began operation in January 2021
© Abermedia / Michal Wachucik
The vehicles, which were purchased in two batches and procured utilising – in part – funding from the EU JIVE project, have not been used for some time due to issues with hydrogen fuelling stations within the city.
Figures also show that Aberdeen City Council also invested over 13 million GBP in the creation of a Hydrogen Hub, which was expected to create around 700 jobs by 2030.
Initially introduced on First Bus services in 2021; the 60-seat double-decker vehicles operated mainly on Service 19 (Peterculter to Tillydrone), and were intended to help cement the city’s status as the energy capital of Europe.
In February, the Council announced it would be moving away from hydrogen in a bid to instead introduce electric vehicles (EV) across the city. It also stated that it was looking to negotiate the transfer of a joint venture with BP to the Council.
During the last financial year, the Council has been found to have provided the joint venture with around 6.5 million GBP – during the same year in which it was announced it was moving away from hydrogen in favour of electric.
STV has also stated that the Scottish Government has provided over 18.5 million GBP of funding during the lifetime of Aberdeen City Council’s hydrogen programme, with the UK Government providing just under 300,000 GBP.
The overall programme was slated to include the installation of new hydrogen supply stations, deployment of hydrogen vehicles and upgrade of existing refuelling stations, alongside the creation of a new green hydrogen production facility with BP – which was due to be operational this year.
The site was expected to deliver up to 300 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, which would have been enough to fuel 25 buses and a similar number of additional fleet vehicles each day.
Aberdeen City Council have stated that an update on the local authority’s hydrogen programme will be considered at a committee.
