Ocado welcomes hydrogen dual-fuel van for deliveries

Online supermarket Ocado has received its first hydrogen dual-fuel 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 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.

This is the first Mercedes Sprinter conversion to be completed by ULEMCo, and should give a tailpipe CO2 saving for Ocado of around 40% against their 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.”

“We are naturally delighted to see another major UK organisation recognise the role that hydrogen fuel can make to achieving cleaner cities. The practicality of converting standard commercial vehicle types has been proven in a growing number of OEM models”, said Amanda Lyne, CEO of ULEMCo.