A new bus consortium has been launched to specifically develop and produce Hydrogen fuel cell buses for the European market
The H2Bus consortium has launched and is hoping to capture and develop the future of the hydrogen-powered bus market in Europe. The consortium brings together six companies with expertise in developing, powering and producing hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The members are committed to deploying 1,000 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses, along with supporting infrastructure, in European cities at commercially competitive rates. The companies involved are Ballard Power Systems, Everfuel, Hexagon Composites, Nel Hydrogen, Ryse Hydrogen, and Wrightbus. Both Ryse Hydrogen and Wrightbus are owned by entrepreneur Jo Bamford.
The H2Bus consortium says that: “It is essential that commercial players join forces to realise the true zero-emission mobility society. The hydrogen fuel cell electric bus is the ideal substitute for fossil solutions, without compromising range, operational ability or cost. We are expanding our product portfolio to accommodate different market needs. The first phase of the project, totalling 600 buses, is supported by €40 million from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The grant will enable the deployment of 200 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses in each of Denmark, Latvia and the UK by 2023.”
acob Krogsgaard, CEO of Everfuel said: “Hydrogen is the zero-emission solution for heavy-duty applications. Hydrogen can efficiently be produced from renewable electricity and distributed in high capacity hydrogen trailers to bus depots. Here, a hydrogen bus can be fueled in five minutes. This is comparable to diesel. We are setting up a dedicated hydrogen value chain to cut costs and, in doing so, to approach operational parity with buses which use traditional fuels. The H2Bus Consortium provides the complete package including fuel cell buses and hydrogen fuel. We will offer the most affordable zero-emission bus to meet the increasing demand in the largest cities of Europe.”
David Barnett, Business Development Director at Wrightbus also commented that: “It is essential that commercial players join forces to realise the true zero-emission mobility society. The hydrogen fuel cell electric bus is the ideal substitute for fossil solutions. Wrightbus is also expanding its product offering to include a fuel cell electric double-decker bus, 12-metre single-decker bus, and articulated bus in order to serve a wider customer base. We are currently witnessing the transformation of public transport for the benefit of both current and coming generations and we feel privileged to be part of this transition together with the other consortium members.
The H2bus Consortium is supported by Element Energy as coordinator. Element Energy has a long experience within the development and coordination of large scale hydrogen projects like the JIVE projects, that are demonstrating 291 fuel cell electric buses in cities across Europe.
