Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he (a) has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of EU plans (i) for large-scale investment in green hydrogen and (ii) to increase the number of hydrogen refueling stations and (b) plans to introduce those schemes in the UK.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We want to utilise the UK’s high-quality engineering and manufacturing capability to ensure we are a global leader in hydrogen fuel cell powered transportation. Our approach to delivering long-term ambitions for greener transport is technology neutral and we are supporting hydrogen where the market favours its use. Our £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is increasing the uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles and growing the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations. The programme is delivering new refuelling stations and upgrading some existing stations as well as deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles. The Government is supporting public and private sector fleets to become early adopters through the £2m FCEV Fleet Support Scheme. In addition, £6.4m of the Low and Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme funding has been invested in more than 60 hydrogen buses operating in Birmingham and around Gatwick. The Office Low Emission Vehicles and the Advanced Propulsion Centre are also funding a wide range of innovation projects in hydrogen vehicles. Government is also committed to supporting innovation in the hydrogen supply chain from production to end use. The £20m BEIS Hydrogen Supply Programme aims to accelerate the development of low carbon bulk hydrogen solutions. The £20m BEIS Storage at Scale Programme aims to demonstrate innovative large-scale energy storage. Two BEIS industry funded programmes are also investigating the feasibility and safety of a hydrogen grid network.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential of hydrogen electric vehicles to provide sustainable, greener transport in rural areas.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions. Like battery electric vehicles, their well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions depend on the method of energy production. A range of production pathways and technological improvements in hydrogen production are under development, with the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, the Department for Transport published the outputs of the Transport Energy Model. The model provides a clear assessment of the relative environmental impacts of a range of fuel and powertrain options for cars, vans, buses and heavy goods vehicles over the period to 2050. This assessment does not distinguish between urban and rural scenarios with regard to the potential for greener transport in rural areas. Network Rail is developing a Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy that will examine which parts of the network are best suited to use of hydrogen trains, as well as battery and electrification. This will inform Government decisions in 2020.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what source of energy (1) is, and (2) is planned to be, used to power electric (a) buses, and (b) cars; and what estimate they have made of the sustainability of those sources of energy.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy produce annual statistics and future projections of UK energy demand currently up to 2035. Of electricity generated in 2019, low carbon electricity’s share of generation amounted to 54.2 per cent. This comprised 36.9 per cent renewables and 17.4 per cent from nuclear generation. Fossil fuel’s share of generation was 43.4 per cent, of which 40.9 per cent was from gas, 2.1 per cent coal and 0.3 per cent oil. The remaining 2.4 per cent generation share came from pumped storage and other fuels including the non-renewable component of waste. It is not possible to identify accurately what proportion of energy is used to recharge electric buses and other electric vehicles.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of hydrogen refuelling stations.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The UK is well placed to be a leader in hydrogen fuel cell powered transportation thanks to our high-quality engineering and manufacturing capability. The Government’s approach to delivering long-term ambitions for greener transport is technology neutral and we are supporting hydrogen where the market favours its use. There are currently 12 publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations in the UK that provide hydrogen for both cars and buses. The Government’s £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is increasing the uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles and growing the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations. The programme is delivering new refuelling stations and upgrading some existing stations as well as deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the testing of hydrogen-fuelled road transport in the UK.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
While the global market for hydrogen vehicles is at an earlier stage of development than plug-in electric vehicles, the UK is well placed to be a leader in hydrogen and fuel cell powered transportation due to our high-quality engineering and manufacturing capability. Our approach to delivering long-term ambitions are technology neutral, supporting hydrogen where the market favours its use. The Government’s £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is increasing the uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles and growing the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations. The programme is delivering new refuelling stations, upgrading some existing stations and deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles. The £48m Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme, and its predecessor the £41m Low Emission Bus Scheme supported hydrogen buses and refuelling infrastructure in London, Birmingham and Brighton.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the use of electric cars by the public sector.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Budget 2017 included a commitment to “electrify 25% of cars in central Government department fleets by 2022” and, as part of the Road to Zero Strategy published in July 2018, the Government announced a further commitment to make 100% of the central Government car fleet ultra-low emission vehicles (zero emission or plug in hybrid) by 2030. Public sector organisations must use the product specifications set out in the Government Buying Standards (GBS) when procuring goods or services. For all vehicles the default is zero or ultra-low emission at the tailpipe. As a minimum, vehicles should meet Euro 6 emission standards.
We are investing nearly £2.5 billion?, with grants available for plug in cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, as well schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes, workplaces and on residential streets. This includes extra funding announced at Budget 2020 of £532 million for consumer incentives for ultra-low emission vehicles, made up of £403 million for the plug-in car grant (PICG), extending it to 2022-23; and £129.5 million to extend the plug-in grants for vans, taxis and motorcycles to 2022-23. Central Government and the wider public sector are able to take advantage of these schemes.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure safe noise levels on public transport.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to reducing pollution from public transport, including noise pollution. Buses with zero exhaust emissions like those using electric powertrains (including hydrogen fuel cells) are much quieter on-board than their diesel equivalents. Government support includes £150 million invested since 2010 towards new cleaner buses, and a further announcement of £50 million for Britain’s first all-electric bus town. The Prime Minister has also announced funding for 4,000 new zero emission buses across England and Wales.
The Government provides significant funds to Network Rail, the rail infrastructure manager, to enable it to carry out upgrades and renewals, which includes noise mitigation work where appropriate. This includes a programme of rail grinding as part of the general maintenance of the track, which reduces the noise from trains. In addition, all new rail vehicles are required to meet strict noise limits (the Noise Technical Standard for Interoperability) before they are permitted to enter into service.
Noise on the London Underground is a matter for the Mayor.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that new electric buses funded from the public purse will be built in the UK.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
On 10 February, the Prime Minister announced £5 billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for every region outside London. This included a commitment to at least 4,000 new zero emission buses to make greener travel the convenient option, driving forward the UK’s progress on its net zero ambitions. Further details about how that will be achieved are being developed alongside the national bus strategy, which we expect to publish later this year.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of the new zero carbon buses will (a) be electric and (b) run on hydrogen; and how much funding will be made available for (i) charge points and (ii) hydrogen stations.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Prime Minster announced £5 billion of new funding to boost bus and cycling links on 10 February, including at least 4,000 new zero emission buses to make greener travel the convenient option, driving forward the UK’s progress on its net zero ambitions. The details of the programmes, including which technologies are eligible and how funding will be distributed, will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the anticipated uptake of electric vehicles by 2040; and what plans they have to ensure that such uptake targets are met.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Earlier this month the Prime Minister announced a consultation on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, as well as including hybrids for the first time. This reflects the advice from the Committee on Climate Change – to make sure that the UK meets its net zero by 2050 commitments.
As part of the consultation, we are asking what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on consumers and businesses across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place. We plan to conclude the consultation in the summer.
We are currently investing nearly £1.5bn? between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for electric cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, as well schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes and workplaces and on residential streets.