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Aberdeen to become “hydrogen hub”

30 April 2019

Aberdeen is developing plans to become a global “hydrogen hub”.

Building on successes already achieved by the Scottish city – a rise in the number of hydrogen vehicles, successful trials of a hydrogen-powered refuse lorry and road sweeper, and the opening of the Kittybrewster hydrogen station – a raft of plans for 2019 have been approved by Aberdeen City Council’s City Growth and Resources Committee.

Aberdeen could host a Scottish Gas Network (SGN) Hydrogen 100 pilot project – 300 new houses with hydrogen-powered heating.

As part of the 2019 Delivery Plan, the feasibility of scaling up production to supply energy to homes as well as transport is being explored by council officers.

The number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will increase again this year, with 17 Toyota Mirais and four Renault Kangoos being added to local authority fleets in the North East, and another road sweeper arriving in the city.

Early 2020 will see the arrival of the new JIVE project buses and up to 10 buses from Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

Two retrofitted diesel/hydrogen transit vans have been gifted to North East Scotland College by the city council as learning vehicles for the development of a technical training course.

“The programme we have approved for 2019 will allow us to further develop the low-carbon technology and demonstrate real-world applications, which will also support delivery of the council’s own Local Outcome Improvement Plan,” explained Councillor Douglas Lumsden.

“The city’s first hydrogen supply chain event drew 150 attendees from a wide spectrum of industries. We have welcomed engineers, academics and investors from Japan, Taiwan, Norway, the US and New Zealand, with recent inquiries coming from India and China.”

Other key developments include the formation of an external strategy group comprising key public and private sector organisations, including Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland and Opportunity North East (ONE).

Meanwhile, H2Aberdeen and Invest Aberdeen are continuing to work with the Department of International Trade to promote the hydrogen sector in Aberdeen as one of eight energy investment opportunities within the UK on a global platform.

Video tour

Aberdeen’s role as a global innovation hub for hydrogen technology is being showcased in a new educational video.

The online tour of the Aberdeen City Hydrogen Energy Storage (ACHES) station is part of a drive to develop the supply chain and will be used as a resource for use in schools, colleges and universities as well as to support organisations and individuals with an interest in hydrogen production.

The ACHES facility in Cove is a key part of the infrastructure network which has been established in the city as part of the H2 Aberdeen initiative and the EU Interreg NSR funded Hydrogen Transport Economy (HyTrEc2) project. HyTrEc2 is a collaboration of partners in the North Sea Region working to develop a hydrogen transport economy through vehicle trials, production of green hydrogen and supply chain development.

ACHES is Aberdeen’s second hydrogen refuelling station and allows 350 and 700 bar refuelling for large vehicles, vans and cars. This is part of the Aberdeen Region Hydrogen Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2015 to develop a hydrogen economy in the region.

https://www.gasworld.com/aberdeen-to-become-hydrogen-hub/2017103.article