Industrialist Jo Bamford, the JCB heir and owner of Northern Ireland-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus has revealed plans to develop a hydrogen fuel production plant in Scotland.
The production unit, which will be situated outside Glasgow, is expected to be operational by November 2021 when the rescheduled COP26 climate event is scheduled to take place in the city. Glasgow is set to run 300 hydrogen-powered buses, while Aberdeen will put a fleet of hydro-powered double-deckers on the road.
Bamford is the executive chairman of Oxford-based hydrogen production company Ryse Hydrogen Ltd and last year, he acquired Wrightbus. He envisions that by 2024 roughly 3,000 hydrogen buses, which is around 10% of the UK’s total fleet, could be up and running.
Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water using power sources such as solar and wind. Bamford firmly believes that an introduction of eco-friendly buses will create a knock-on transformation of other green vehicles, including trains, lorries, ships, police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances.
Bamford explained:
We will have a Scottish solution outside of Glasgow ready and running for November next year. A production system that will be ready for COP26 being built in Scotland.
Later this year, a fleet of hydrogen-powered double-decker buses, claimed to be the world’s first, is expected to kick off in Scotland. First Aberdeen, the primary bus company operator in Aberdeen, Scotland, is to run fifteen hydrogen-powered double-deckers supplied by Wrightbus, as part of the £8.3 million project. The project is funded by the European Union, the Aberdeen City Council, and the Scottish Government, with an investment of £500,000 per hydro-bus.
Bamford, who is a campaigner of hydrogen power, said:
It is essential that strong partnerships exist between the government, local authorities, and business to unlock investments like these.
Furthermore, these vehicles will release only water vapor and save an estimated 280,000 tons of CO2 each year, which is comparable to removing approximately 107,000 cars off the road. The move could also lead to the creation of 150 new UK jobs at the Ryse Hydrogen supply chain and 1,000 at Wrightbus.
