Treasury officials learn about bus operator 's eco drive

HM Treasury officials toured one of National Express ' 20 new hydrogen double-decker buses during a visit to Birmingham.

Following a roundtable on 'Levelling Up in Greater Birmingham ', in which local businesses discussed the Government 's Levelling Up agenda and the opportunities it would bring to the West Midlands, HM Treasury 's director of companies and economic security, Tim Jarvis, and staff had a first-hand experience of the company 's latest commitment to sustainable levelling up.

The hydrogen buses, which can run for 300km and be fully refuelled in under 10 minutes, will save 631kg of poisonous NOx emissions per year and will prevent 1,560 tonnes of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere.

The buses are also the first hydrogen powered buses in England outside of London.

Birmingham 's Clean Air Hydrogen Bus Pilot will be the catalyst for the next generation of hydrogen buses, hydrogen production and re-fuelling infrastructure development.

Chris Gibbens, commercial director at National Express Coventry, said: “It was great to welcome officials from HM Treasury to Birmingham. We enjoyed taking them for a spin in one of the Council's hydrogen buses to see some of the exciting things going on in our city.

"These state-of-the-art buses are a sign of our commitment to sustainability. National Express bought our last diesel bus in 2019, and our goal is that the whole fleet will be zero-emission by 2030.

“So we're working with Transport for West Midlands to get hundreds more electric and hydrogen buses on routes across Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country. ”