Ocado has taken delivery of its first hydrogen-powered van from ULEMCo.

The vehicle is part of a wider programme to evaluate the use of ULEMCo’s cleaner vehicles for the Ocado fleet.

Converted from a standard Mercedes Sprinter, the new van will go into immediate service from the Ocado spoke in West Drayton, making conventional deliveries of groceries to customers in the area. It will make use of the public hydrogen refilling stations that are already up and running in the capital and around the country.

ULEMCo offers a range of vehicle types that have been converted to hydrogen dual-fuel operation. The Mercedes Sprinter conversion should give a tailpipe CO2 saving for Ocado of around 40% against its standard vans, at the same time as meeting the latest air quality requirements.

“Ocado is committed to reducing vehicle emissions across its fleet”, said Graham Thomas, fleet services manager at Ocado. “Deployment of this first dual-fuel van represents an important step in developing our plans for cleaner, more efficient fleet operation. We’re particularly interested in ways to ensure we guarantee customer service and achieve the vehicle utilisation levels we currently experience with our conventional vans. Hydrogen dual-fuel looks like an option that can deliver both, and we’re excited to see how it performs in our world.” 

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