Increased funding has been announced by Nichola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party to speed up the decarbonisation of the transport sector whilst targeting 5GW of hydrogen production by 2030.

Jo Bamford, Ryse founder and Chairman of Wrightbus, has commented on the SNP’s climate agenda saying, “The firm commitment today from the SNP to put hydrogen front and centre of its climate strategy for Scotland is greatly welcomed.

Hydrogen double-decker buses, currently in service in Aberdeen and other cities

“Hydrogen not only represents a fantastic opportunity for the country to achieve the clean air, zero carbon future it strives towards, but it will also bring huge economic benefits.

“We’ve long believed that Scotland has the potential to create a world-leading hydrogen economy, bringing multi-million pound investments and tens of thousands of jobs – and this announcement gives confidence to the sector.”

Jo Bamford – Ryse Hydrogen founder and Chairman of Wrightbus, manufacturer of the world’s first zero-emission hydrogen double-decker

“We were immensely proud at Wrightbus to launch the world’s first fleet of hydrogen double deckers onto the streets of Aberdeen last year, and we stand ready to go with further Scottish projects and investments from Ryse Hydrogen and Wrightbus to help unlock Scotland’s hydrogen potential.” continued Bamford.

In 2020 Wrightbus launched the world’s first fleet of double-decker hydrogen buses in Aberdeen,  and is expanding this network of zero-emission buses across the rest of the UK.

In an effort to speed up UK decarbonisation and lower transport emissions the UK government recently announced a multi-million pound scheme to put zero-emission buses across England, with zero-emission bus funding now available.

It was announced Wrightbus would receive £11.2m to speed up development and rollout of their hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicle single and double-decker buses.  This funding will enable higher volume production at lower cost, and create a centre of excellence for zero-emissions hydrogen technology, to ‘upskill’ and share knowledge across the UK.