Aberdeen City Council takes delivery of the world’s first dual-fuel hydrogen road sweeper
22 March 2018
Aberdeen City Council’s already has one of the largest hydrogen fleets in Europe and that fleet has grown with the addition of a unique new vehicle.
The world’s first hydrogen road sweeper, which is a converted DAF truck, has been provided by ULEMCo. The company produces ultra-low emission hydrogen-fuelled commercial vehicles. The cleaner sweeper has been adapted by retrofitting a standard EURO 6 DAF truck to run on both diesel and hydrogen fuel. Emission savings of around 30% are projected from the refitting of ULEMCo technology onto the DAF truck, and the partners believe this makes it best in class for both CO2 and air quality emissions for this type of vehicle.
The hybrid vehicle will use hydrogen for around a third of its use. It will utilise the Aberdeen City Hydrogen Energy Storage (ACHES) refuelling station, which makes hydrogen from renewable electricity.
Cllr Philip Bell, Aberdeen City Council’s hydrogen spokesperson, said: “The delivery of this vehicle is part of our strategy to increase the deployment of hydrogen vehicles across the city and keeps us at the forefront globally by demonstrating the practicality and operational flexibility of hydrogen technologies.
“Low carbon technology is already making an impact in Aberdeen and we are committed to continuing to push boundaries in the way we manage our own fleet.
“Our investment in low carbon is significant and is part of our wider transport strategy, with a focus on infrastructure which is changing the way traffic flows around the city. All of these advances are bringing great benefit to Aberdeen.”
Amanda Lyne, CEO of ULEMCo said “This latest initiative further demonstrates the potential for hydrogen dual fuel to make a significant impact on reducing diesel emissions from commercial vehicles.
“We have demonstrated how ULEMCo technology can be applied to many different vehicles, with practical and measurable benefits.”
The work was delivered as part of project HyTIME, within the Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial, funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) in partnership with Innovate UK.