"Powered by Hydrogen" in Aberdeenshire

Within the HyTrEc2 project, Aberdeenshire Council has developed and refined its objectives for the use of hydrogen fuel in meeting some of its obligations to transition a fleet of over 800 vehicles to zero-emission over the coming years. It has done this by practical trial and detailed analysis of the requirements for operating in a widespread rural and sometimes challenging environment.

Aberdeenshire Council has utilised the HyTrEc2 project to transition to becoming an active Hydrogen user with seven light vehicles of various types so far trialled or fully operated within its fleet using hydrogen fuel. These few vehicles have nevertheless covered over 80,000 km in a short space of time.

Thanks to HyTrEc2, the Council has taken into account the consortium’s expertise to develop plans for the full transition to a zero-emission fleet over the coming years using hydrogen as a key fuel component. These plans are built on the real-world vehicle monitoring taken from the Council’s existing fleet. The Council will use the remaining project time and outputs to further progress vehicle trials and to interface the fleet analysis work with appropriate fuelling infrastructure.

This work is built on the exchange of transnational experience of like-minded authorities in the different areas of the North Sea Region. Aberdeenshire’s contribution to these exchanges is especially valuable in the context of the rural nature of the region, the longer journeys and more arduous geography encountered when compared to other partner regions.

Aberdeenshire’s “powered by hydrogen” branded cars are often found at the forefront of the Council’s public facing activities be it regular duties with Car park management and Waste collection or in the front-line reaction assisting the vulnerable delivering protective equipment and medicines in the Covid-19 emergency or food parcels as part of the recent winter storm recovery. Aberdeenshire also use the valuable experiences, knowledge base and outputs of the HyTrEc2 partnership to encourage others within our region in developing their plans for Hydrogen production facilities.