Aberdeen Paid £556k Per Hydrogen Bus. Five Years Later, First Bus Is Paying £30k

This is a public transit story, not a home upgrade story, but it points to something homeowners weighing hydrogen versus electric equipment might find useful: real-world resale value.

Aberdeen, Scotland, bought 25 hydrogen-powered buses in 2021 for about £556,000 each, roughly £13.9 million total. After only about three and a half years of use, hydrogen fuel supply problems left the buses parked. The city put them up for sale, and the winning bid came from First Bus, a commercial operator, at just £30,000 per bus — about 5.4% of the original price. Other bidders reportedly offered even less, including one for £1 per vehicle. First plans to strip out the hydrogen fuel-cell equipment and convert most of the buses to battery-electric power instead, work that involves removing the hydrogen tanks and fuel cell, adding a large battery pack, and reworking the electrical systems.

For homeowners, the takeaway isn't about buses directly, but it's a real-world data point on how hydrogen equipment has held its value compared to battery-electric alternatives once the underlying technology or fuel supply becomes unreliable. If you're comparing home heating or equipment options, this is a reminder that resale and long-term serviceability, not just upfront cost or efficiency claims, can matter a lot once you own the equipment.