The bus fleet consists of 20 Wrightbus GB Kite Hydrolider hydrogen fuel cell electric buses which are to be operated in the Crawley, Horley and Gatwick Airport areas of Great Britain.

The announcement builds on a previous guarantee on a GBP26m loan from last year.

Gales brings with him over 30 years’ experience in the automotive industry, including firms such as Peugeot and Citroen.

First Bus will convert the Leicester depot by installing new electric charging infrastructure provided by Heliox.

The Net Zero Hydrogen Fund was launched in May 2022 to provide up to GBP240m to support new low-carbon and renewable hydrogen production projects in the UK - 15 recipients were awarded in the first funding round.

117 zero-emission buses are to be manufactured by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland and operated by FirstBus across the UK.

99 double deck and 5 single deck ‘Electroliner’ battery-electric buses will join the fleet of Go-Ahead, who will put them into service in the city of Oxford from late 2023.

The production facility will be built by Hygen Energy, an Oxford-based firm led by Wrightbus owner and Chairman Jo Bamford.

30 ‘Electroliner’ buses have been ordered by Abellio which are funded through non-recourse financing from a consortium led by Rock Road Holdings Ltd of London and the Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund.

48 single deck buses, based on Volvo's BZL Electric chassis platform, and 39 double deck buses by Wrightbus will enter service in Greater London and southern Hertfordshire next year.

The order for single- and double-deck battery-electric buses, which will enter service in the summer of 2024, is being backed by GBP88m in funding from the UK government.

The Northern Irish manufacturer has said that the government-backed credit will support its plans to grow exports to over 40% of its annual turnover.