Balfour Beatty to trial dual fuel hydrogen vehicles
14 September 2023
Balfour Beatty has become the first construction company to secure funding from the Scottish Government’s Emerging Energies Technology Fund to retrofit carbon intensive vehicles to run off both hydrogen and diesel, also known as dual fuel.
The Scottish Government has provided more than £240,000 with Balfour Beatty match-funding the scheme. Balfour Beatty will be able to retrofit two gritters and two operations and maintenance vehicles, which will then be trialled on the Connect Roads M77/Glasgow Southern Orbital project.
The trial is expected to deliver a 40 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from each of the four retrofitted vehicles, with the aim of providing a blueprint for the conversion of all Balfour Beatty owned fleet in the future.
The Connect Roads depot in East Renfrewshire will also become Scotland’s first Hydrogen Construction Hub, where Balfour Beatty will facilitate quarterly sessions during the first year of the trial to allow customers, supply chain partners and other key stakeholders to hear about the progress and performance of the four vehicles and see them in action.
Hector MacAulay MBE, Balfour Beatty Regional Managing Director of Scotland, said: “Reducing emissions from plant on sites is a key challenge faced by the entire construction and infrastructure industry. It is a challenge that must be faced collectively if we are to drive down our emissions and play our part in reaching the Scottish Government’s net zero by 2045 target.
“Whilst electric solutions are starting to enter the market, they are not yet a realistic option for heavy plant. Dual fuel represents an alternative solution, and we are looking forward to seeing the benefits that this trial will deliver, as we look to develop a practical solution for our industry, alongside the Scottish Government.”
The Scottish Government’s Emerging Energy Technologies Fund also aims to enable the development of hydrogen innovation centres across Scotland.
The hydrogen retrofit project will support the targets set out in Balfour Beatty’s sustainability strategy, Building New Futures, and is aligned to the company’s recently published fuel hierarchy, which looks to educate people on the most appropriate, sustainable energy sources for plant, equipment, vehicles and buildings.
Photo: Roman/Pixabay
