British Gas has partnered with Ryze Power to trial the use of hydrogen-powered vans to decarbonise its fleet.
The UK energy supplier has acquired one Vauxhall Vivaro van to use in the trial. During the test period, the van will be used across the Midlands. For two months, a Birmingham-based British Gas engineer will drive it and refuel it with green hydrogen supplied by Ryze Power at Ryze’s refuelling station in Tysley during the working day.
British Gas’ parent company, Centrica, has set a target of achieving net zero emissions by 2040; as part of this, it is aiming to decarbonise its entire transport fleet by 20330. Vehicles powered by green hydrogen require a battery much smaller than that of EVs and thus need less precious metals to be mined, and hydrogen-powered vehicles emit only water vapour as a by-product.
Rob Simister, Centrica’s director of fleet, said: “We are fully committed to the electrification of our fleet and we continue to invest in battery electric vehicles, as they will always be part of our net zero fleet mix. However, we see a time when hydrogen could play a role too, especially for engineers who don’t have easy access to charging options. When fully available and with the refuelling network to support it, operating hydrogen vans is much the same as a diesel, allowing our engineers to fill up in minutes and spend their time where it matters most, helping our customers.”
Alex Webster, sales director at Ryze, commented on the partnership between Ryze and Centrica during the trial, adding: “The hydrogen network is still in its infancy, but facilities like our Tyseley refuelling station provide a blueprint for local green hydrogen production. We are already powering local buses in Birmingham, so there is no reason why we can’t support British Gas and other operators of large fleets on their journey to electrification, which is vital to the delivery of net zero.”
Hydrogen could be ideal for heavy-use vehicles
Recently, transport operator Explore Transport announced that it had secured the first prototype of auto manufacturer Scania’s fuel cell electric vehicle in an attempt to decarbonise future haulage operations. Secured as part of the UK government’s Zero Emission HGV Infrastructure Demonstrator Programme (ZEHID), funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered in collaboration with Innovate UK, the prototype Scania truck is fitted with 416kWh of battery capacity, a fuel cell motor, cooling fans, and 56kg of hydrogen storage tanks. Explore Transport is aiming to have this vehicle, which has an estimated range of 850km, in commercial use by 2026.
