Question reference: S6W-27885
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
- Date lodged: 30 May 2024
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 7 June 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions (a) it and (b) its agencies have had with (i) the UK Government, (ii) local authorities, (ii) devolved nations and (iv) other countries on the purchase of hydrogen buses manufactured in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government participates in the UK Hydrogen Propulsion Manufacturing Taskforce. The taskforce works to develop recommendations on how government and industry can maximise investment opportunities for the UK manufacturing of hydrogen propulsion systems. This has included reference to the opportunities for hydrogen fuel cell buses. The taskforce has been paused during the pre-election period for the UK general election.
As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy alongside battery electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when battery electrification is challenging. However, it is up to individual bus operating companies to determine what type of zero emission vehicles best suits their particular circumstances, and for manufacturers to respond to that demand in the way that they think is most appropriate.