City in United Kingdom Halts Hydrogen Fuel Cell Double-Decker Bus Operation, Switches to All-Electric Bus System

At the beginning of 2026, the Aberdeen City Council officially decided to retire and attempt to sell its 25 hydrogen fuel cell double-decker buses, marking the end of the city's multi-year hydrogen energy bus demonstration project. These vehicles were delivered in two batches between 2020 and 2021, with a total investment of approximately 12.8 million pounds, supported by funding from the Scottish government and the European Union, with a procurement cost of about 500,000 pounds per vehicle. Initially, the project was positioned as the world's first hydrogen-powered double-decker bus operating system and was meant to be the cornerstone for promoting the local hydrogen economy and supporting hundreds of jobs. However, after several years of actual operation, due to unstable vehicle performance, pressure on hydrogen refueling infrastructure, and the simultaneous large-scale deployment of battery electric buses, the council ultimately chose to fully transition to an all-electric technology route.

As of mid-2024, the hydrogen refueling station in Kittybrewster, Aberdeen, has experienced a continuous decline in energy supply reliability. Routine operation of hydrogen buses has basically ceased, with vehicles remaining idle for over a year. The station was built in 2015 by BOC Company with an investment of about £1 million, designed to provide an annual hydrogen refueling capacity of 131,400 kg. However, the actual total refueling volume over four years was only approximately 1,600 tons, averaging about 40,000 tons per year, with an utilization rate of less than 30%. According to council documents from 2024, the three-year operational maintenance cost reached £974,000, averaging about £325,000 per year, exceeding 30% of the initial capital expenditure. After the contract expired in 2024, BOC refused to make additional investments for equipment upgrades without long-term hydrogen purchase commitments and operational guarantees, and subsequently initiated the shutdown procedure, leading to the loss of a stable fuel supply for hydrogen buses.

The council had considered taking over the hydrogen refueling station assets to independently carry out a life-extension retrofit, but evaluations concluded that this would expose public finances to ongoing technical and financial risks associated with a small-scale, low-utilization hydrogen production facility. Meanwhile, bp Aberdeen Hydrogen Energy Limited—a joint venture between Aberdeen City Council and BP—had originally planned to build a larger-scale hydrogen production and refueling hub. The initial phase of the new facility on Hareness Road had an estimated budget of approximately £20 million and was designed to produce over 800 kilograms of hydrogen per day, powered by a solar plant located at the former Nigg landfill site. However, with the termination of the hydrogen bus project and the absence of other clear large-scale hydrogen demand, the joint venture project has been suspended. The council is currently in discussions with BP regarding exiting or transferring the joint venture entity, with negotiations addressing the allocation of sunk costs incurred during the planning, permitting, and development phases.

This batch of hydrogen buses uses the Wrightbus StreetDeck Hydroliner platform, one of the few hydrogen-powered double-deck models in operation in the UK, also seen in London and Northern Ireland, but none have led to subsequent bulk procurement. Across the UK, the procurement of hydrogen-powered double-deck buses remains far lower than the continuous expansion of battery electric double-deck buses in major cities. The second-hand market is nearly non-existent: hydrogen buses rely heavily on dedicated refueling infrastructure, specific maintenance capabilities, and supply chains. Potential buyers need to have the corresponding supporting facilities in place, and globally, there are very few mature operating entities with such conditions. Although the council intends to sell the vehicles to recover part of the capital, the industry consensus is that meaningful residual value recovery is unlikely.

Cost analysis shows that, according to local electricity prices in Aberdeen and actual operational data from hydrogen refueling stations, the comprehensive cost of on-site electrolytic hydrogen production is approximately £20 to £25 per kilogram. Hydrogen buses consume 6 to 7 kilograms of hydrogen per 100 kilometers, corresponding to energy costs of about £1.32 to £1.70 per kilometer, which is about 2 to 2.4 times that of diesel buses (about £0.71 per kilometer) and about 10 times that of battery electric buses (about £0.14 per kilometer). Adding the vehicle purchase cost, the total lifecycle cost per kilometer for hydrogen buses ranges from £1.76 to £2.23. If calculated based on an actual operation of about 240,000 kilometers (only 24% of the designed lifespan of 1,000,000 kilometers), the unit cost further increases to £3.34 to £3.81 per kilometer.

Aberdeen previously operated 10 Van Hool A330H single-deck hydrogen buses from 2015 to 2020, also relying on the Kittybrewster depot for refueling. After the project concluded, the vehicles were retired and did not enter commercial service. Van Hool entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2024, with its hydrogen strategy emblematic of the broader struggles faced by several European companies that had heavily bet on hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. Similar cases include Quantron, Nikola, and Hyzon. Meanwhile, hydrogen bus initiatives in the Netherlands, Belgium, Whistler in Canada, and the Beijing Winter Olympics in China have also been scaled back or discontinued. Global registrations of hydrogen buses have plateaued, while sales of battery-electric buses continue to rise.

The Aberdeen City Council's policy shift is a practical adjustment based on existing technological validation. Urban bus systems have characteristics such as fixed routes, overnight return to garage, and predictable charging windows. Battery electric technology has structural advantages in energy efficiency (grid-to-wheel efficiency exceeding 80%), infrastructure complexity, maintenance costs, and scalability. Hydrogen still has irreplaceable value in sectors such as fertilizer production, refining, and industrial high-temperature processes that require molecular carriers. However, for urban bus applications, its multi-stage energy conversion losses (overall efficiency often below 35%), high fixed costs, and low equipment utilization present insurmountable economic barriers.