Launching in October, this will be the UK’s first 100 per cent electric intercity coach service and likely one of the first services of its kind in the world.

The new coaches, the second of which has been delivered this week, will make the 125-mile roundtrip between Dundee and Edinburgh on a single charge.

The loan, provided by Triodos as part of the UK government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), is allowing Ember to launch with two coaches rather than one, giving it the opportunity to run a more frequent service from launch.

Philip Bazin, environment team manager at Triodos Bank UK, said: “To be a part of such a pioneering project is of great excitement to the bank. Supporting the transition to a low carbon economy is a fundamental objective for us as a lender, and Ember is a brilliant example of an organisation taking advantage of the latest technology to offer customers high-quality, environmentally sound transport options.

“Working with Ember really embodies why we became accredited with CBILS. We knew that we were well placed to offer finance to values-based organisations that had been affected by Covid-19 and the scheme provides us with an opportunity to work with new impactful customers, who may have never crossed our path previously.”

Pierce Glennie, co-founder at Ember, added: “Being able to partner with Triodos Bank has given us the confidence to accelerate our plans to provide modern, fully-electric coach services. Building our technology from the ground up means we are optimising everything around a fully electric fleet, allowing us to offer lower prices and a better service, all with zero emissions. We’re hoping to give passengers a taste of the future and show them that unreliable, shaky coaches are a thing of the past.”