Balfour Beatty has secured funding from the Scottish Government's Emerging Energies Technology Fund for an innovative hydrogen retrofit project. The company will retrofit two gritters and two operations and maintenance vehicles to run off both hydrogen and diesel, aiming to reduce carbon emissions by 40% from each vehicle. The trial will take place on the Connect Roads M77/Glasgow Southern Orbital project. The project will also establish Scotland's first 'Hydrogen Construction Hub' at the Connect Roads M77/GSO depot in East Renfrewshire. Balfour Beatty will facilitate quarterly sessions to update stakeholders on the progress and performance of the retrofitted vehicles. Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty Regional Managing Director of Scotland, stated that reducing emissions from plant on sites is a key challenge faced by the construction and infrastructure industry, and the trial will provide a practical solution for the industry.
The Scottish Government expressed its pleasure with Balfour Beatty's funding bid, stating that the project aligns with its hydrogen innovation scheme. The government has awarded over £7 million in grant funding to 32 innovative projects that support the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland. The hydrogen retrofit project supports Balfour Beatty's sustainability strategy, Building New Futures, and its recently published fuel hierarchy, which aims to educate people on the most appropriate, sustainable energy sources for plant, equipment, vehicles, and buildings.
Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group with over 25,000 employees. The company finances, develops, builds, maintains, and operates critical infrastructure projects. It has been operating in Scotland for over a century and employs 2,000 people in the country. Balfour Beatty is committed to delivering social impact in Scotland and working closely with customers to benefit local communities. The company launched its sustainability strategy, Building New Futures, in December 2020, which sets out its ambitions to achieve net-zero emissions, generate zero waste, and positively impact over one million people by 2040.