Aberdeen’s hydrogen bus fleet will double in size with £3 million from the Scottish Government, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

The plans would see an increase from 10 to 20 buses, and the money will also increase the capacity of the hydrogen refuelling station.

Ms Sturgeon said the green buses help improve air quality and cut greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the Scottish Government’s environmental and climate change ambitions.

She said: “Aberdeen has led the way on the deployment of hydrogen buses and I want to ensure the city is able to build on its success so far.

“This investment will help ensure the project can enter an exciting new phase.

“I know cities elsewhere in Scotland and, indeed, around the world have been following developments in Aberdeen closely.

“This announcement is a sign of the SNP’s commitment to Aberdeen and I now look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength in the years ahead.”

The award-winning Aberdeen Hydrogen Bus Project has been delivered as part of council efforts to create a hydrogen economy, designed to test technologies and encourage the development and wider use of hydrogen vehicles.

The total cost of the expansion project, led by Aberdeen City Council, will be around £13m, with £2m from the European Commission, £2.5m from the council and Stagecoach and First Bus expected to provide additional funding.

The first stage of the project to launch the hydrogen bus fleet and a refuelling station began with a £3.3m fund from the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise in 2013 and became fully-operational in 2015.

The news comes as an international summit on hydrogen transport at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre comes to a close today.

The H2 Transport Summit has taken place during European-wide Hydrogen Week, and brought together bus operators and re-fuelling companies to present study findings of large scale hydrogen re-fuelling.

Aberdeen City Council declined to comment.