North West local authority St Helens said it had become the UK’s first owner of an OEM hydrogen fuel cell powered refuse truck, the Faun Bluepower.
Faun-Zoeller UK (FZUK), part of the Kirchoff Group in Germany, developed the chassis in collaboration with Daimler AG in Stuttgart, which is twinned with St Helens.
Trevor Nicoll, assistant director at St Helens, said: “We are delighted to be the pioneering local authority on this project in the UK.
“With this partnership that involves not just the introduction of the vehicle, but the surrounding topics of skills, education and the development of decarbonisation in the community, it is the first major step for us on the green decarbonisation journey.”
Simon Hyde, FZUK CE, said: “It was the intent to ensure that the product was completely ready to launch in UK and I’m very proud that having seen over 30 units fully operational in Germany, France and Belgium, with outstanding results, combined with a huge £15m investment in a new, dedicated production facility for Bluepower, it is more than ready for the UK.”
