• Hydrogen key attributes
  1. Hydrogen stores more energy per unit of weight than other fuels. Fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) could meet most operators’ range requirements (perhaps up to 800km in an articulated truck) faster than electrification, as higher ranges could be achievable soon. 
  2. Hydrogen can be liquified and transported via pipelines, trucks and ships. Current fossil fuel infrastructure, such as natural gas pipelines, could be repurposed to transport liquid hydrogen. 
  3. It’s quick and easy to refuel vehicles with hydrogen. Refuelling times are comparable to those for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. 
  4. Hydrogen is only low carbon when it’s either blue or green. Currently, less than 0.7% of hydrogen production is green or blue.  As a result, hydrogen production emits 830Mt of CO2e per year. 
  5. Hydrogen is expensive to produce, and cost reductions are not guaranteed. It’s also bulky to transport and store, which adds to costs. However, there is widespread optimism about green hydrogen’s ability to compete economically with other fuel types, with the falling cost of renewables often cited as a key driver for this. Fuel costs are expected to have the biggest impact on future hydrogen prices. 
  6. FCEVs have a power-to-vehicle efficiency rate of around 22% – compared to around 73% for BEVs. 

Case studies

• City of Edinburgh Council

  The City of Edinburgh Council replaced one of their Bucher V62 diesel sweepers with an electric version of the same model, the MaxPowa V62e. The electric sweeper has a 200kWh battery with two 22kW on-board chargers. This means it can charge from 10% to 100% in under five hours. Edinburgh received funding from Transport Scotland covering 50% of the £368,000 purchase price. 

  The electric truck mounted sweeper is one of four sweepers City of Edinburgh Council operates – the other three all being diesel powered. These sweepers operate on larger roads within the Edinburgh boundary during the night alongside the council’s fleet of compact municipal sweepers. Because the electric truck mounted sweeper is so quiet, is has been particularly effective for use at night.

  Edinburgh has found the electric truck mounted sweeper performs just as well, if not more effectively, than its diesel equivalents. It typically returns with a 40% charge level after operations, in all seasons and weather conditions.  

  The sweeper has a dedicated three-phase charging point in one of Edinburgh’s depots. The installation of this charge point cost around £1,000 and was similar in specification to a charge point for an electric car or LCV.

  The sweeper has easily fitted into off-duty processes, with the same standard safety inspections as its diesel equivalent. 

• Glasgow City Council

  Glasgow City Council received a capital grant from Transport Scotland alongside Office for Zero Emission Vehicles funding to replace one of its diesel recycling collection vehicles (RCVs) with a demonstrator hydrogen fuel cell RCV. Glasgow currently has 19 Dennis Eagle and Ballard converted hydrogen fuel cell RCVs on order for delivery in the coming years. 

  Glasgow has extended hydrogen technology adoption to its gritter fleet, operating 20 hydrogen-diesel hybrid vehicles converted by ULEMCo. The fuel cell RCVs have not yet been deployed within the fleet. However, the demonstrator vehicle has created an impact wherever it has been exhibited – including at the All-Energy and Decarbonise 2022 event in Glasgow. 

  Nanosun’s trailer-style refuelling station provides Glasgow with hydrogen for these vehicles and is based at their Gartcraig depot. Ensuring that only green hydrogen is used is a key priority for the council. It’s also essential that this hydrogen is as pure as possible to avoid any damage to the RCV’s fuel cell. This meant the hydrogen supply specifications in Glasgow’s contract with Nanosun had to be stringent.  

  The fuel cell RCV has proven to operate effectively when carrying out daily duties. However, there have been some complaints about the vehicle’s driving range. There’s opportunity for Glasgow to learn as it adopts more of these vehicles – including what routes they can best serve. 

  Glasgow carried out thorough route risk assessments before deploying the vehicles. This is because it considered the hydrogen tanks positioned on the RCV roof a potential collision hazard. Through these risk assessments, Glasgow identified a need for safety guards over the tanks to reduce the risk of collisions. Deploying these guards has been a simple yet effective risk mitigation measure. 

  Maintenance provision was key for Glasgow as it adopted hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Support is provided by the manufacturer as part of the vehicles’ five-year warranty. Glasgow will also look to upskill its own team in future.  

  Another consideration was managing and planning for potential breakdowns. Glasgow had to make sure recovery vehicles could manage both hydrogen and battery electric vehicles, as these are heavier than their ICE equivalents. 

• Aberdeen City Council

  Aberdeen City Council has adopted a range of alternative fuel HGVs. These include hydrogen fuel cell RCVs, dual-fuel RCVs powered by a hydrogen-diesel combination, dual-fuel TMSs and electric municipal sweepers. The council previously operated an EMOSS converted Mercedes Econic electric RCV but discontinued its use due to performance issues. 

  In partnership with ULEMCo, Aberdeen has converted nine vehicles to diesel-hydrogen dual-fuel. This includes six RCVs, two TMSs and a JCB vehicle. The RCVs are 12, 18 and 26 tonne vehicles, with each vehicle’s conversion costing approximately £45,000. These RCVs have all performed as effectively as their diesel equivalents.  The transformations of the TMSs cost about £40,000 each.  

  The council was initially concerned about how the conversion process might impact the vehicles’ original warranties. However, it had no issues with this in practice.  

  Aberdeen uses a hydrogen refuelling station next to the waste depot in partnership with BOC. It’s working with BP to increase the level of fuelling provision for the fleet. Aberdeen’s staff needed some training to use the high-pressure refuelling systems, as well as general training in using the vehicles. 

  Each of Aberdeen’s dual-fuel conversion HDVs travelled approximately 1,000km in June 2022. Most of the travel was carried out using the vehicles’ hydrogen fuel rather than diesel. This generated CO2 emission savings of almost two and half tonnes per month. Data on the individual vehicles indicates that using a high proportion of hydrogen in the fuel split creates significant emissions savings, even when mileage levels are low.

• Dundee City Council

  Using funding support from Transport Scotland, Dundee City Council procured a Dennis Eagle eCollect RCV and a Johnson CityCat V20 eSweeper. The Transport Scotland funding covered £185,428 of the eRCV’s £376,865 cost and £187,088 of the eSweeper’s £375,029 cost.  
   
  This case study will focus on the performance of the Dennis Eagle vehicle. This vehicle is now one of six  eRCVs in Dundee’s fleet and has been through 18 months of operation.   
   
  Dundee initially tested the RCV on shorter routes to understand its energy consumption from driving and completing bin pick-ups (uplifts). The vehicles performed well and were extended to longer routes.  Dundee is a small, flat city, so the mileage and energy consumed from driving per shift was small. From an energy consumption perspective, measuring a vehicle’s shift operation in terms of the number of uplifts, is more beneficial than focusing on mileage driven.
   
  One of Dundee’s drivers, who is a qualified trainer, received initial training in operating the electric RCV. They then trained each driver within the crew. Drivers have reported a positive experience with driving the vehicles. They find the vehicles easy to drive and have described the uplift mechanisms as like-for-like with diesel models.
   
  Each vehicle has a combined battery capacity of 300kWh and can charge up to 50kW power. However, Dundee has found that charging 25kW overnight is their best option. The vehicles don’t need to be fully charged each night because they don’t max out their charge each shift. Dundee currently designates one charger for each eRCV.  
   
  One challenge faced with this vehicle model was the positioning of the charging port. This is located near the vehicle front, where a diesel RCVs fuel cap would normally be. As eRCVs are required to reverse park for safety reasons, this created a significant distance between the charger at the back of the bay and the charging port. To resolve this, Dundee had to order extra-long charging cables that could reach across this distance.  
   
  The public has responded positively to engagement activities promoting the vehicles, including a competition and public vote to determine their names. Two popular culture–inspired names chosen for them from this were Bin Diesel and Leonardo Di Charge-io.  
   
  From an environmental perspective, Dundee has calculated that for each diesel RCV replaced by an equivalent eRCV, the total annual emissions saving is 19,620kg. Dundee is keen to switch the remainder of its fleet to electric and has set a target to replace the remaining 30 bin lorries before 2030.