Issue - meetings

Please note that an exempt appendix is located within the Exempt/Confidential Business Section of this agenda.

(i)              to note that the Scottish Government’s Energy Transition Fund has allocated up to £15m of funding to support the delivery of the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub Phase One outputs, subject to the Scottish Government’s approval of an ‘Outline Business Case’ submitted in September 2020;

(ii)             to approve the programme of work for the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub - Phase One outlined in Appendix One;

(iii)           to authorise Chief Officer – City Growth following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to spend the funding in accordance with all grant and funding agreement conditions and the Council’s procurement procedures;

(iv)           to approve the expenditure to purchase 10 hydrogen fuel cell buses through the FCH JU JIVE project, subject to confirmation of Scottish Government funding through the Energy Transition Fund and in line with Council’s existing budgetary commitment from the General Fund Capital programme;

(v)            to authorise the Chief Officer - City Growth and the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to undertake a procurement exercise and award a tender to establish Joint Hydrogen Vehicle Procurement Frameworks working with other north east Scotland authorities and public sector bodies;

(vi)           to authorise the Chief Officer – City Growth following consultation with Head of Commercial and Procurement Services and Chief Officer – Governance to undertake a procurement exercise and award for the commission of works to adapt existing hydrogen refuelling facilities to receive hydrogen from an external supply;

(vii)         to instruct the Chief Officer – City Growth following consultation with the Chief Officer – Finance, Head of Commercial and Procurement Services and the Chief Officer – Governance to identify the optimum investment and delivery model for the production, storage and distribution of renewable hydrogen for Aberdeen, and report back to this Committee with the results of that appraisal;

(viii)        to authorise the Chief Officer – City Growth in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to undertake a procurement exercise for external consultancy and technical advice to determine the optimum investment and delivery model;

(ix)           to authorise the Chief Officer – City Growth in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to undertake a procurement exercise for feasibility studies outlined in this report into future applications of fuel produced by the Hydrogen Hub;

(x)            to note that Aberdeen City Council has been awarded JIVE Bus fuel funding from the Scottish Government’s Air Quality Action Plan Grant 2020/21 and authorise the Chief Officer – City Growth to spend the funding in accordance with the grant conditions and the Council’s procurement procedures.

With reference to article 13 of the minute of meeting of the Strategic Commissioning Committee of 27 August 2020, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – City Growth, which provided an update on the proposed Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub programme and the initial workstreams to deliver it.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)            note that the Scottish Government’s Energy Transition Fund has allocated up to £15m of funding to support the delivery of the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub Phase One outputs, subject to the Scottish Government’s approval of an ‘Outline Business Case’ submitted in September 2020;

(b)            approve the programme of work for the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub - Phase One outlined in Appendix One;

(c)            authorise Chief Officer – City Growth following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to spend the funding in accordance with all grant and funding agreement conditions and the Council’s procurement procedures;

(d)            approve the expenditure to purchase 10 hydrogen fuel cell buses through the FCH JU JIVE project, subject to confirmation of Scottish Government funding through the Energy Transition Fund and in line with Council’s existing budgetary commitment from the General Fund Capital programme;

(e)            authorise the Chief Officer - City Growth and the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to undertake a procurement exercise and award a tender to establish Joint Hydrogen Vehicle Procurement Frameworks working with other north east Scotland authorities and public sector bodies;

(f)              authorise the Chief Officer – City Growth following consultation with Head of Commercial and Procurement Services and Chief Officer – Governance to undertake a procurement exercise and award for the commission of works to adapt existing hydrogen refuelling facilities to receive hydrogen from an external supply;

(g)            instruct the Chief Officer – City Growth following consultation with the Chief Officer – Finance, Head of Commercial and Procurement Services and the Chief Officer – Governance to identify the optimum investment and delivery model for the production, storage and distribution of renewable hydrogen for Aberdeen, and report back to this Committee with the results of that appraisal;

(h)            authorise the Chief Officer – City Growth in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to undertake a procurement exercise for external consultancy and technical advice to determine the optimum investment and delivery model;

(i)              authorise the Chief Officer – City Growth in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to undertake a procurement exercise for feasibility studies outlined in this report into future applications of fuel produced by the Hydrogen Hub; and

(j)              note that Aberdeen City Council has been awarded JIVE Bus fuel funding from the Scottish Government’s Air Quality Action Plan Grant 2020/21 and authorise the Chief Officer – City Growth to spend the funding in accordance with the grant conditions and the Council’s procurement procedures.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.