Man who supplied hydrogen buses to Aberdeen launches new investment fund

The man whose company made the hydrogen buses now running in the Granite City has launched a hydrogen investment fund which is aiming to raise more than £1billion.

Jo Bamford, heir to family which owns the $10bn (£7.2bn) construction equipment firm JCB, has joined forces with the Vedra Partners investment group to launch HYCAP.

It has so far raised more than £200million with investment to “be injected largely into UK businesses”, aimed at creating jobs and contributing to the country’s net zero targets.

Mr Bamford confirmed a “number of Scottish businesses” were in line for investment.

He said: “Scotland has been pivotal in the hydrogen sector, taking the lead with hydrogen buses and ferries and not just understanding the opportunities that exist but embracing them too.

“We have identified a number of Scottish businesses for investment and we’re looking forward to creating a bold hydrogen economy north of the border.”

Aberdeen in world first

In January this year Aberdeen launched the world’s-first fleet of hydrogen-fuelled double decker buses, with 15 vehicles costing £8.3m. The initiative was funded by the Aberdeen City Council, the European Union, and the Scottish Government.

They were produced by Mr Bamford’s company Wrightbus based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. As of mid-May. Wrightbus estimated that the bus fleet had saved 170,000kg of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere – roughly the same as taking 42 automobiles off the road for a year. 

Ahead of Cop26 in Glasgow in November, Mr Bamford said there was “no time to waste” to help UK firms harness the clean fuel.

“With the Government’s relentless pursuit of net zero targets and the publication of the damning IPCC report, it is our belief that hydrogen holds the key to reducing emissions – and there is a growing sense of urgency to act now,” he said.

“The UK has missed the boat on batteries, a sector dominated by China and the Far East, but we can be global leaders in the production and supply of hydrogen – an economy said to be worth $2.5 trillion in revenues by 2050.”

Number of firms already in the running

Mr Bamford said his team had already identified more than 40 firms in the hydrogen space which will be evaluated for investment.

“We have also discovered that investors around the world match the ambitions of global governments in wanting green-focused funds which have a positive impact on climate change,” he added.

Mr Bamford’s father Anthony set up JCB, who Bamford Jr worked for but left around five years ago. The younger Bamford rescued the Northern Ireland bus firm behind Aberdeen’s hydrogen fleet from administrators in 2019.

When fully deployed, the fund will unlock large-scale long-term job creation and aim to save up to 25% of cities’ transport budget, HYCAP said.

Max Gottschalk, Vedra Partners founder, said: “The fund will be investing across the entire value chain, focusing on production, manufacture and supply, in order to put the UK firmly on the map when it comes to hydrogen.”

Mr Bamford is also the owner of clean energy producer Ryse Hydrogen.