Aberdeen City Council and the Royal Mail have just started a 12 month trial of a hydrogen-powered Ford Transit post van which will reduce the carbon footprint of Xmas post deliveries in Aberdeen. The Transit will fuel up at Aberdeen City Council’s hydrogen refuelling station, which is conveniently located next to Altens Delivery Office.
The trial is part of the EU-funded Civitas Portis project which is testing innovative and sustainable urban mobility solutions in five European port cities, and marks Aberdeen’s drive for better air quality as well as more sustainable transport. Up to 60 per cent of the trial van’s power is generated by ‘green’ hydrogen, with the remainder of the power during the trial coming from diesel fuel. Designed for use on roads and highways, the trial van can travel up to 120 miles in dual fuel mode, and the refuelling time is similar to equivalent petrol or diesel vans.
Councillor Philip Bell, Aberdeen City Council’s hydrogen champion, said: “We are absolutely delighted to support green transport technology in our city by providing Royal Mail with a hydrogen-powered van to operate from its Altens Mail Centre in Aberdeen for an initial 12-month trial period. Aberdeen is already a global leader in pioneering transport technologies and we at Aberdeen City Council have demonstrated our commitment to innovation by helping fund in partnership, the world’s first hydrogen-powered double-decker buses. We are determined to meet our environmental obligations by tackling air pollution while also establishing the city as ‘Centre for Excellence’ for hydrogen.”
James Baker, chief engineer and fleet director at Royal Mail, said: “As a company we are committed to making changes to our operations that reduce our environmental impact. Hydrogen is viewed by many as a vital source of future sustainable energy so is a perfect addition to our programme of initiatives that enable us to assess ways of achieving this, while allowing us to continue to deliver letters and parcels safely, efficiently and responsibly.”
The Ford Transit van, with hydrogen conversion by ULEMCo, is on loan to Altens Delivery Office in Aberdeen and is wrapped in the Royal Mail red livery. The long wheelbase Transit is slightly larger than a typical Royal Mail van, potentially making it suitable to support the growth in parcel deliveries. Able to accommodate letters, cards and parcels of all sizes, it will be used for collection and delivery duties on various postal routes in the Altens area as part of the unit’s allocated fleet.
The Royal Mail’s five-year environment strategy includes a commitment to adopting existing and new technologies that will help reduce the emissions associated with our operations. The Royal Mail’s fleet of circa 48,000 vehicles being one of the largest in the UK, and they are proactively exploring alternative vehicles and fuels that yield low or even zero emissions, with almost 300 zero-emission vehicles already in this fleet and much bigger plans going forward.
For more information visit the Royal Mail website.