Found: Most sales of ZEBs have been for battery-electric buses; hydrogen buses still represent less than one

Found: I am not interested in hydrogen buses, hydrogen cars, hydrogen scooters, hydrogen boilers.

Found: The first zero-emission buses (hydrogen fuelled) will launch in May 2022.

Found: hydrogen in buses, trains, shipping, aviation and road freight is promoted in both reports3For urban buses

Found: be used to power smaller vehicles, but for larger vehicles such as HGVS, off-road construction, and buses

Found: improve the financial competitiveness of hydrogen buses and bring down costs beyond battery electric buses

Found: transport and energy sectors, academia, that UK's hydrogen economy must be kick-started through hydrogen buses

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the availability, by (a) green and (b) blue hydrogen, of hydrogen fuel sites capable of providing for hydrogen buses.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

As of December 2021, there are fourteen publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations across the UK that provide hydrogen suitable for use by vehicles. The information on suitability of access for all buses and the availability of green or blue hydrogen is not currently available.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's strategy is for rolling out hydrogen fuel infrastructure sites capable of sustaining hydrogen fuelled buses.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Government remains committed to supporting the introduction of 4,000 zero emission buses (ZEB) with over £525 million funding available this Parliament. Through our Low and Ultra Low Emission Bus Schemes, Government is already supporting the deployment of over 60 hydrogen fuel cell buses in England. Many local areas are seeking funding to introduce hydrogen fuel cell buses and associated infrastructure through the £270m Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, which will award funding to successful areas through the standard track in spring 2022.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on funding orders for hydrogen-fuelled buses.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

The Department remains committed to supporting the roll out of zero emission buses (ZEBs) and is providing over £525m funding over this parliament.

The Government’s approach to the delivery of the ZEBs will be technology neutral. The £270m Zero Emission Bus Regional Area scheme is due to announce winners from the standard process in Spring 2022, having announced winners from the fast track process in October 2021. Local areas were able to apply for funding for both battery electric buses and hydrogen fuel cell buses depending on which technology is best suited to their local areas.

The Government has supported the introduction of hydrogen buses through the previous Low and Ultra Low Emission Bus funding schemes. Through these schemes, Government provided over £4.8m to a joint bid between Birmingham City Council and Transport for London for 40 hydrogen double decker buses. In addition, Government provided over £4.3m to Brighton and Hove Buses for a further 20 hydrogen buses.

Funding from other funding schemes, such as the Transforming Cities Fund and City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, can also be used by local areas to support the introduction of ZEBs. 20 hydrogen buses are being supported in the Liverpool City Region through funding from the Transforming Cities Fund.

The Government will also increase the rate at which the Bus Service Operators Grant can be claimed for ZEBs to 22p per km, further incentivising and supporting the uptake of battery electric buses and hydrogen fuel cell buses.

Found: hydrogen fuel -cell buses. 263 Most sales of zero -emission buses have been for battery -electric buses

Found: Transport and storage n/a Protos Park plastic to Hydrogen Energy from waste n/a North West hydrogen buses

Found: over the past few years to assist the city of Aber deen in its drive to deploy its fleet of hydrogen buses