After reading one recent report on the attitude to hydrogen at fleets in Germany, Italy and the UK, Jonathan Welch takes a look at what is happening with some of the country’s hydrogen fleets
Hydrogen has thus far taken somewhat of a back seat in the decarbonisation stakes compared to battery-electric vehicles, at least where buses are concerned. When it comes to coaches, that segment lags even further behind, though developments are taking place to level things up, such as the announcement by Wrightbus that it is developing a new coach model with an initial focus on hydrogen power and suitable for inter-city style operations. When an email containing a report from engineering company IMI landed in my inbox, entitled ‘Hydrogen adoption in European public transport faces grid and storage challenges,’ I was intrigued. Of course, as will any such report compiled from research carried out by a company with a vested interest, we have to see it through that prism, though I didn’t think the opening premise was too far from the mark.
Being based in Scotland, maybe that’s just because I’ve just gotten used to the on-off nature of Aberdeen’s relationship with the fuel, having been through a fleet of Van Hool A330H buses as part of a trial involving Stagecoach and First Bus, and now being home to a fleet of 25 Wrightbus Hydroliners which, although they spent some time in service, are currently in store until the hydrogen fuelling facilities are able to meet the demand.
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