Policy Engagement with Hydrogen Technology in Aberdeen

By project SMART HY AWARE

Published on 21 January 2022

United Kingdom

North Eastern Scotland

About this good practice

One of the objectives of the Aberdeen Hydrogen Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2025 is Policy and Regulation – to ensure hydrogen technologies are embedded in all relevant areas of policy and supported at a national level.
Aberdeen City Council (ACC) has engaged with various stakeholders in numerous ways throughout the lifetime of the Hydrogen Strategy and Action Plan.
Internally within ACC engagement has taken place with the Planning, Transport, Roads and Environmental Health teams – this was to gather feedback on the Hydrogen Strategy, during the build of the two hydrogen refuelling stations and in the deployment of hydrogen vehicles to be used as part of the Council fleet.
ACC has engaged with community partners and local organisations when it comes to hydrogen vehicle trials. These include NHS Grampian, one college and two universities, Sport Aberdeen, Royal Mail and Siemens amongst others. These partners have trialled hydrogen vehicles for extended periods of time.
Regionally, ACC has engaged with various Councils such as Aberdeenshire, Angus, Moray and Highland, and Opportunity North East. They have been involved in studies such as the North East Scotland Fleet Review (Hydrogen Demand). We are also part of the North East Scotland Hydrogen Ambition Steering Committee.
Nationally, ACC has engaged with Transport Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government. These organisations have supported ACC when it comes to knowledge sharing and funding of projects

Expert opinion

In line with the EU hydrogen strategy, this good practice features the efforts at local level to promote the new topic. It is mostly a good practice related to governance as it brings together different teams in the administration to educate them about hydrogen and align understanding and vision. It also involves the reachout of city officials to different external fora and groups with the aim to build awareness and ensure hydrogen is properly taken into account in different communications and policy areas. Ultimally, this may lead to an insertion of hydrogen into many different policy documents and measures, which is of utmost importance to ensure all strategies, policies and activities are aligned and go into the same direction of supporting a local hydrogen economy development. This approach is certainly highly transferable and shoud be used by local and regional administrations.

Katharina Krell

Works at Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform

Resources needed

Workshops and meetings have been hosted by ACC’s Hydrogen team with the various stakeholders at different times – to share knowledge on hydrogen, encourage partners to be part of vehicle trials and to determine a coordinated and collaborative approach to hydrogen delivery in the region.

Evidence of success

Since the publication of the Hydrogen Strategy, ACC has engaged with 8 internal teams, 15 local organisations and community partners, 7 regional organisations, and 3 national organisations. This engagement has resulted in 12 community partners trialling hydrogen vehicles, 12 organisations being involved in the North East Scotland Fleet Review (Hydrogen Demand) study, match-funding for 4 hydrogen projects and ACC being a member of the North East Scotland Hydrogen Ambition Group.

Potential for learning or transfer

This good practice can be transferred to other regions and shows the potential of collaboration and knowledge dissemination to various stakeholders, ranging from public, private and third sector. Through the workshops and meetings there has been an increased awareness of hydrogen technology. Collaboration with organisations can be adapted to be location-specific.
As a result of the engagement with local, regional and national organisations, hydrogen has been included in several documents including transport and planning strategies, energy transition documents and national hydrogen documents. ACC has also been involved in consultations for the UK Hydrogen Strategy and the Scottish Government Hydrogen Policy Statement and Action Plan.
Overall, this good practice, if adapted to a region has the potential to be a catalyst that promotes familiarisation and acceptance of hydrogen technology not only locally or regionally, but also at a national level.