DiviGas, Neste, Toyota, Ballard, COP26 pledges, PNNL, NREL, others are hot on hydrogen

Ballard sees hydrogen fuel cell buses scale-up in Europe

Ballard points out that as zero-emission bus fleets moves from the demonstration phase to large-scale deployment, many authorities and operators are finding they cannot meet their mandates with battery electric buses alone. For many routes, only Fuel Cell Electric Buses (FCEBs) have the performance to replace diesel and CNG buses due to their fast fueling and longer range. The environmental advantages of FCEBs go beyond zero emissions: the hydrogen value chain offers the potential for system-wide “well-to-wheel” CO2 neutrality as when hydrogen is produced from renewable energy, it is a 100% zero-emission fuel.

Ballard’s early European demonstrations included:

• Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) projects:
  • CHiC (Clean Hydrogen in European Cities)
  • 3Emotion (Environmentally friendly, efficient, electric motion)
  • High V.L.O.-City
  • HyTransit

Solaris Urbino 12 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus

Ballard’s newest projects JIVE and JIVE 2, funded by the FCH JU will deploy nearly 300 FCEBs across Europe. These will be one-for-one replacements for diesel buses in tough urban environments. Some JIVE/JIVE2 fleets will see 20 to 35 buses per depot—which brings FCEB technology close to full commercial scale.

More on the story here.