City Council shortlisted for national transport award

01 August 2016

Aberdeen City Council has reached the finals of the National Transport Awards for its Hydrogen Strategy and Action Plan.

The Action Plan was shortlisted in the Contribution to Sustainable Transport category for the UK-wide awards.

The 16th Annual National Transport Awards celebrates the successes that have been achieved on national and local transport projects which have shown the judges the tangible results they have achieved, improving the experience for their transport users, and ultimately adding to the successful development of the nation’s transport infrastructure.

The Aberdeen City Region Hydrogen Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2025 is designed to secure Aberdeen’s place as a centre of excellence in hydrogen technologies and reinforce its position as an energy city now and in the future.

Aberdeen City Council Leader Jenny Laing said: “This is fantastic that the Council has been shortlisted for this prestigious national award and is a testament to the hard work carried out by our staff and private sector partners.”

The Aberdeen City Region Hydrogen Strategy and Action Plan is an integral part of the city’s broader H2 Aberdeen initiative, with hydrogen technologies offering exciting opportunities to develop and diversify the energy industry, maximising the capacity and value of renewable energy and giving greater energy security.

Aberdeen is initially focussing on transport opportunities and has introduced hydrogen buses, vans, and cars to the city’s roads.

The Hydrogen Strategy outlines key actions required to ensure Aberdeen remains at the forefront of hydrogen technology. It focuses on promoting hydrogen as a low carbon alternative to fossil fuels across several key objectives, including:

• Increasing H2 vehicle deployments;

• Building an accessible, convenient and safe refuelling infrastructure network;

• Increasing production and use of green hydrogen;

• Exploring options for non-transport applications;

• Increasing local supply chain and business development opportunities;

• Expansion and diversification of the energy industry, making use of transferable oil and gas expertise and infrastructure.

Last month, the £21million green transport Aberdeen Hydrogen Bus Project was shortlisted for two prestigious national local authority awards.

The Aberdeen City Council-led project, which has backing from the European, UK and Scottish governments as well as a broad range of private sector partners, has reached the finals for the APSE awards in the Best Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Initiative and Best Public/Private Partnership Working Initiative categories.

The finals for the 2016 National Transport Awards will take place at the Westminster Park Plaza, London on 13 October 2016.