SSE will trial hydrogen vans with new vehicles from First Hydrogen as part of the company's wider strategy to switch 2,500 of its vehicles to zero emissions.

During the trial, First Hydrogen’s vehicle will be deployed with SSE engineers.

This is the first time the vehicle has been used for real-life fleet operations and enables First Hydrogen’s team to gather data on fuel consumption, usage, and efficiency.

The information will be used to help calculate total cost of ownership data for fleet operators to consider when purchasing hydrogen vehicles in the future.

Ronnie Fleming, chief procurement officer at SSE, said: “As part of our commitment to achieving net zero and in addition to our leading EV100 pledge, we are keen to explore all alternative fuels for our fleet.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the vehicles in action, for our drivers to experience how they operate in practice and for our fleet managers to evaluate how hydrogen vehicles could fit into our future fleets.” 

The hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicle (LCV) will be based at a SSE operational site at Aberdeen, which neighbours a hydrogen fuel station.

The hydrogen vans can be refuelled within 5-7 minutes.

The fleet operator road trials have been co-ordinated through the Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium (AHFC).

The organisation works with large UK fleet operators to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen transport through vehicle deployment and refuelling infrastructure development.

First Hydrogen said 15 major fleet operators have expressed interest in trialling First Hydrogen’s vehicle, including companies in the grocery, parcel delivery and healthcare industries, and trials are set to take place over the next 12-18 months.

Steve Gill, First Hydrogen automotive chief executive, said: “Transitioning to fossil-fuel-free transport is a major step along the road to net zero and we are pleased to help SSE become the first utility company to explore hydrogen vehicle performance alongside other alternative fuels to power its maintenance and utilities vehicles.

“We’re also thrilled to take our vehicle to Aberdeen, where so much work is already underway to champion hydrogen and know that the City Council sees this trial as an important test for promoting commercial FCEVs in the area too.”

Fleet & Mobility Live 2023 October 3 & 4

First Hydrogen's demo van will be on show as part of Fleet & Mobility Live this year, which is being held at the NEC on October 3 & 4. The vehicle will be part of a special feature area at the show called Tomorrow's Fleet, which will showcase some of the latest innovations in the sector.

• Fleet decision makers can attend the show for free and register their interest at www.fleetandmobilitylive.com