‘Green Hydrogen for Scotland’ – a partnership of ScottishPower Renewables, BOC (a Linde company) and ITM Power – brings together industry-leading names in the renewables and clean fuel industries to offer an ‘end-to-end’ market solution for reducing vehicle emissions through the provision of green hydrogen.

Hydrogen fuel – particularly suitable for powering larger vehicles – produced via electrolysis, with the electrolyser powered from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, means that the hydrogen is produced without any carbon emissions, making the hydrogen ‘green’.

The new facilities planned by ‘Green Hydrogen for Scotland’ will ensure zero emission fuel is readily available to organisations such as local authorities and others with fleets of heavy duty vehicles.

The partnership’s first project, ‘Green Hydrogen for Glasgow’, is designed to provide carbon-free transport and clean air for communities across the city, which wants to become the first net-zero emissions city in the UK by 2030.

A proposed green hydrogen production facility located on the outskirts of the city will be operated by BOC, using wind and solar power produced by ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) to operate a 10MW electrolyser, delivered by ITM Power.  The project aims to supply hydrogen to the commercial market within the next two years.

It also supports the Scottish government’s decarbonisation targets and Glasgow City Council’s commitment to creating a zero-emissions vehicle fleet, using only electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles by the end of 2029.

“Making transport cleaner and greener is one of the key issues at the heart of how we can unlock net zero and achieve the ambitious climate change targets set out at both regional and national levels over the next 10-30 years”, said Lindsay McQuade, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables at the launch of the partnership in mid-September.  “While electrification will play a significant role in taking petrol and diesel vehicles off our roads and make an important difference for the planet, it can only go so far, and we’re doing something about that.  Our revolutionary approach – which really will be a game-changer – fully supports the large scale transformation needed to replace heavy diesel vehicles with cleaner, greener alternatives.”

Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, commented: “‘Green Hydrogen for Glasgow’ is an important step forward for the city’s net-zero targets and enables Scotland to demonstrate that its most densely populated urban areas can fully utilise its abundant local renewable energy resources to decarbonise its transport system and industry.”

Mark Griffin, Market Development Manager for Clean Fuels at BOC added: “Forward-thinking councils are putting green hydrogen at the centre of their transport strategies to help achieve their net-zero targets.  We [BOC] already operate Europe’s largest hydrogen production and refuelling site in Aberdeen and are looking forward to working with councils across Scotland to develop more projects in partnership with SPR and ITM Power.”

Talking of Aberdeen, the world’s first hydrogen-powered double-decker bus is to go into service in Aberdeen, a city which has pioneered hydrogen technologies.  The buses are as efficient as electric equivalents, with refuelling taking less than 10 minutes and offering a greater range, says manufacturer Wrightbus.  The UK’s first hydrogen production and bus refuelling station was opened in Aberdeen in 2015.