First Hydrogen partners with SSE

First Hydrogen has partnered with energy firm SSE to trial its first-generation hydrogen-powered vehicle.

Currently, SSE operates one of the largest vehicle fleets in the UK and has pledged to switch its 2,500 vehicles to electric as part of its decarbonisation agenda.

The trial will see First Hydrogen’s light commercial vehicle (LCV) used by SSE engineers in Aberdeen, with an adjacent hydrogen fuel station, and will be the first time it has been applied for real-life fleet operations. Refuelling will take five to seven minutes.

First Hydrogen will then gather data on the vehicle’s fuel consumption, usage and efficiency and use this to calculate the total cost of ownership.

The fleet operator road trials have been co-ordinated through the Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium (AHFC), which works with large UK fleet operators to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen transport through vehicle deployment and refuelling infrastructure development.

Some 15 major fleet operators have expressed interest in trialling First Hydrogen’s vehicle, including companies in the grocery, parcel delivery and healthcare industries, with more trials set to take place over the next 12 to 18 months.

Steve Gill, CEO Automotive at First Hydrogen, said: “We’re delighted to be working with energy giant SSE, which is already making great strides in switching to clean energy and decarbonising its operations. Transitioning to fossil-fuel-free transport is a major step along the road to net zero and we are pleased to help SSE become the first utility company to explore hydrogen vehicle performance alongside other alternative fuels to power its maintenance and utilities vehicles.

“We’re also thrilled to take our vehicle to Aberdeen, where so much work is already underway to champion hydrogen and know that the City Council sees this trial as an important test for promoting commercial FCEVs in the area too.”

Ronnie Fleming, Chief Procurement Officer at SSE, said: “As part of our commitment to achieving net zero and in addition to our leading EV100 pledge, we are keen to explore all alternative fuels for our fleet. We’re looking forward to seeing the vehicles in action, for our drivers to experience how they operate in practice and for our fleet managers to evaluate how hydrogen vehicles could fit into our future fleets.” 

Image courtesy of First Hydrogen

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