French manufacturer Safra is to supply five new hydrogen-powered buses to the municipality of Auxerre in a supply-and-maintain deal. The Businova buses use a modular design, with energy packs integrated at the rear of the vehicle. Each one is expected to cover around 200,000km per year. A hydrogen fuelling station will be set up in the town to fuel the buses. 
Safra claims a range of up to 350km for the buses between refuelling, and already has six vehicles in service in Artois-Gohelle in the north of the country, as well as in Versailles, Le Mans and at Toulouse airport. The buses will feature a 30kW fuel cell module and 132kWh battery. The drivetrain is produced in cooperation with Symbio, Michelin Group’s hydrogen specialist division which produces hydrogen fuel cell kits for several kinds of vehicles.
Safra specialises in the repair, refurbishment and rebuilding of public transport vehicles, and launched its Businova model in 2018. It is available in a range of electric and hybrid combinations as well as hydrogen-powered, and features a bi-modular chassis design which uses a separate module housed under the rear, with its own wheels, to carry the different power packs.
