First Minister Alex Salmond gave two green thumbs up for Aberdeen, Scotland to become a hydrogen hub featuring 10 new fuel cell buses. The buses which will be operational in 2014 will be refueled at Scotland’s largest hydrogen refueling station which was also be able to accommodate fuel cell cars once they become available.
According to the Scottish Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association, “The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise funding will enable Aberdeen City Council, supported by Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, to start the project’s first phase with an order for 10 hydrogen fuel-cell buses – which produce water vapour instead of carbon monoxide and other harmful emissions.
“They will be operated on First and Stagecoach bus routes in the city by early 2014 and refuelled at Scotland’s first large hydrogen refuelling station, which will also be able to refuel hydrogen-powered passenger cars, as they become available. Scottish & Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD), working with industrial gases and clean energy technologies business BOC, will develop an integrated ‘whole hydrogen’ system which can harness wind energy to produce and store hydrogen that is then used as fuel for the bus fleet, as well as for generating electricity at times of peak demand.”
I’ve talked about Scotland many times in the past, from opening hydrogen fueling stations to starting a hydrogen car sharing club to the building of Hypod hydrogen homes. And it’s not just hydrogen that the Scots are focused on as wind is a big player in their renewable energy mix as well.
But, what is certain is that the combination of wind power and hydrogen will be able to create loads of green energy and set a glowing example for the rest of the world to follow.