Wrightbus has revealed the vehicle which is being used to develop a powertrain for its promised hydrogen-fuelled coach
At the Cenex Expo 2024 event held at Millbrook, showcasing net zero and connected automated mobility, Wrightbus unveiled for the first time its ‘demonstrator’ hydrogen coach. Not a demonstrator in the traditional sense, the vehicle uses a standard bus body and is being used to develop the powertrain for the Northern Irish company’s promised hydrogen fuel cell coach.
The firm said it was ‘thrilled’ to have unwrapped its hydrogen fuel cell coach demonstrator and expressed its gratitude for the support of the Department for Business and Trade, delivered through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), and with partners including Queen’s University Belfast and Symbio.
According to Wirghtbus, its testing has shown the the 300kW coach will be able to cover 1,000km (around 620 miles) on one refuelling.
Wrightbus CEO Jean-Marc Gales spoke of this significant step forward saying: “For years Wrightbus has led the way in transport innovation, producing the world’s first hydrogen-powered bus and an award-winning battery-electric version, now both sold all around the world. There is no room for standing still; innovation has been at the core of our business since we were founded in 1946 and we continue to plough enormous amounts of time, money and effort into staying ahead of the curve. While buses have been in the Wrightbus DNA since day one we know that to have a real impact on public transport we must tackle the decarbonisation of coaches.
“Although the demonstrator on show at Cenex is not the finished article, we have worked heavily on creating a new driveline and our testing shows it can cover 1,000km on one refuelling.”
Wrightbus Director of Engineering Robert Best also took to the platform at the event to talk through the project and the Wrightbus story of progress and innovation in the bus industry.
