One North East funds ECO2Trans hydrogen bus project

One North East has granted £314 thousand to fund the ECO2Trans project, a unique development and research programme to convert two electric-powered Gulliver U500EUK transport buses into hydrogen vehicles. The low carbon buses are planned to be tested in the streets of Sunderland in the north eastern region of England.

ECO2Trans’ goal is to educate the public about the potential of hydrogen as a car fuel. To carry out the work, the Institute of Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practice (AMAP) of the University of Sunderland has collaborated with the specialists from Cramlington’s AVID Vehicles and Shanghai-based Shen Li High Technology.

AMAP had already purchased two second-hand, electric-propelled buses which have been stripped down for the new technology to be assembled into the rolling chassis. Helen Armstrong, Senior Specialist of the Manufacturing and Productivity of One North East, is hoping that the ECO2Trans initiative will help to advance low carbon automobiles’ power charging and distribution infrastructure.

Currently, AMAP, One North East and car manufacturer Nissan are working to develop a regional network of hydrogen vehicles. Led by Adrian Morris and Dirk Kok, the AMAP team last year successfully developed a Nissan Almera model that runs on hydrogen and that only emits water from its exhaust.

Meanwhile, the first trial of green vehicles in North East England began last week when four electric-propelled Smart cars were delivered by Cenex. Over 500 drivers will be given a chance to run the Smart cars during the six months trial.