Hydrogen for the long haul

Various alternative propulsion technologies are available on the market, but according to a report by Zespół Doradców Gospodarczych TOR, within the next decade the total cost of ownership (TCO) of city buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells may become lower than in the case of analogous battery electric vehicles, as well as those powered by CNG, LNG or combustion vehicles. Long-distance bus operators have also recognised the trend. Flixmobility is currently working on an efficient hydrogen solution.

Analyses available so far show that hydrogen propulsion is particularly effective in urban conditions, i.e. on routes of no more than 400 km per day. However, intercity and long-distance operators are also interested in the hydrogen fleet.

Flixmobility wants to bring the first long-distance hydrogen bus to the European market by 2024. The company is participating in the HyFleet research project funded by the German Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The consortium with Flixbus consists of Freudenberg Fuel Cell e-Power Systems, ZF Friedrichshafen AG and the climate organisation atmosfair, with a European bus manufacturer expected to join the partnership in the future. The activity focuses on the development of an efficient fuel cell system that will be tested directly on a demonstration bus. The partners are keen to develop solutions with high commercial potential and high scalability.

The main challenges the consortium faces are long distances of up to 1,000 km per day and short stop times. On average, breaks are taken every 4.5 hours, which is achieved after about 450 km. The range of an eco-bus must be at least 500 km on a single charge.

However, hydrogen offers quite a lot of potential here, as hydrogen vehicles are already achieving these results and the refuelling itself is as short as for diesel buses. A certain barrier to implementation may be the cost of the fuel itself, but further dissemination of hydrogen technology and subsidies should effectively reduce the existing disparity.

Although urban transport is the first choice market when it comes to hydrogen fuel cell bus manufacturers, an increasing number of companies are planning to implement such technologies. One of these is Australia's H2X, which plans to set up a production line in Sarawak, Malaysia. The hydrogen buses will first go to a local public transport operator. And France's Greenmot, which has developed technology for converting internal combustion engine city buses to run on hydrogen cells, plans to implement similar technology for intercity buses. The company intends to supply hydrogen bus conversion kits.

Poland will allocate PLN 1.3 billion to subsidise zero-emission city buses, including hydrogen buses. This means that in the coming years there will be infrastructural investments in hydrogen refuelling stations at bus depots, stations or in their vicinity. Most existing charging stations are used exclusively for bus operators, but in Hamburg, for example, the infrastructure is generally available for all vehicles, including private cars. The stations can be supplied with fuel in two ways. Hydrogen can be produced on site at the charging station by installing a generator in which an electrolysis process takes place. It can also be supplied to it from outside. A hybrid approach combining the two is also possible.

https://www.sustainable-bus.com/fuel-cell-bus/greenmot-intercity-bus-retrofit-hydrogen-fuel-cell/

https://www.sustainable-bus.com/alternative-drive-coach/flixbus-hydrogen-bus/

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