Wrightbus plans to build a green hydrogen production facility at its headquarters in Ballymena that will initially produce enough clean energy to power 300 hydrogen powered buses a day in Northern Ireland.
The new multi-million pound facility, which is being delivered by Wrightbus in partnership with Hygen Energy, is currently subject to planning approval.
In 2020 the company launched a hydrogen-powered double-decker bus which is now in operation in cities across the UK.
It is intended that a planning application will be submitted to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in April 2023, and is hoped a planning decision will be issued in winter 2023, meaning the facility will become operational in summer 2024.
Jo Bamford, Chairman of Wrightbus, said, “One of our key objectives when we purchased Wrightbus in 2019 was to bring the first UK manufactured hydrogen double decker bus to market.
“We have done this, with our Hydroliner buses now moving passengers every day in a number of cities across the UK, including in Belfast.
“Hydrogen is the best means of decarbonising many bus routes, but for this to happen bus operators need a reliable and voluminous supply of low cost low carbon hydrogen.
“It is great to see a project that is being sized to enable future demand for hydrogen here in Northern Ireland to be met.
“This project will initially be able to produce enough hydrogen to run up to 300 buses, and has the potential to triple in scale as demand for hydrogen increases. We hope it will set an example for how these projects will be designed and built.”
