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A fuel cell bus is a
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
that uses a
hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
as its power source for electrically driven wheels, sometimes augmented in a hybrid fashion with batteries or a
supercapacitor alt=Supercapacitor, upright=1.5, Schematic illustration of a supercapacitor upright=1.5, A diagram that shows a hierarchical classification of supercapacitors and capacitors of related types A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, ...
. The only emission from the bus is water. Several cities around the world have trialled and tested fuel cell buses, with over 5,600 buses in use worldwide, the majority of which are in China.


Background

Owing to the greenhouse gas emissions and particulate pollution produced by diesel buses, transport operators have been moving towards greener and cleaner buses (such as
hybrid electric bus A hybrid electric bus is a bus that combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These types of buses normally use a diesel–electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid diesel� ...
es and
battery electric bus A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source. Battery electric buses offer the potential for z ...
es) since the early 2000s. However, battery electric buses lack range compared to diesel buses, take time to charge and have reduced energy storage in cold weather. Transport operators have therefore evaluated alternatives such as hydrogen fuel cell buses.
Hydrogen fuel cells A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
generate electricity by reacting
hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
and
oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
in the presence of a catalyst, the by-product of which is water. This electricity is used as a power source for an electric motor, which drives the wheels of the bus. Some companies have proposed using the fuel cell as a
range extender A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The ...
, combining it with a larger battery or a
supercapacitor alt=Supercapacitor, upright=1.5, Schematic illustration of a supercapacitor upright=1.5, A diagram that shows a hierarchical classification of supercapacitors and capacitors of related types A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, ...
. Hydrogen has a higher energy density than
lithium batteries Lithium battery may refer to: * Lithium metal battery, a non-rechargeable battery with lithium as an anode ** Lithium–air battery ** Lithium–iron disulfide battery ** Lithium–sulfur battery ** Nickel–lithium battery ** Rechargeable l ...
, making it suitable for heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks. The provenance of hydrogen fuel varies – with
green hydrogen Green hydrogen (GH2 or GH2) is hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water, using renewable electricity. Production of green hydrogen causes significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than production of grey hydrogen, which is derived fr ...
(produced using renewable electricity) being significantly more environmentally friendly than brown hydrogen (produced by burning
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
or
lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...
) or grey hydrogen (produced by steam heating
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
).


History


Initial tests and trials

From the late 1980s, concern regarding
diesel emissions Diesel exhaust is the exhaust gas produced by a diesel engine, plus any contained particulates. Its composition may vary with the fuel type, rate of consumption or speed of engine operation (e.g., idling or at speed or under load), and whether t ...
from buses led to experimentation regarding the use of
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
s to power vehicles. Initial
proof of concept A proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is an inchoate realization of a certain idea or method in order to demonstrate its feasibility or viability. A proof of concept is usually small and may or may not be complete ...
work involved demonstrating that fuel cells could be packaged into a bus, and successfully power one. Between 1994 and 1995, the Georgetown Fuel Cell Bus Program (led by
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
and the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...
) demonstrated three buses powered by a
phosphoric acid fuel cell Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC) are a type of fuel cell that uses liquid phosphoric acid as an electrolyte. They were the first fuel cells to be commercialized. Developed in the mid-1960s and field-tested since the 1970s, they have improved sign ...
from Fuji Electric. From the late 1990s, hydrogen-powered fuel-cell buses were trialled and experimented in a variety of cities. In 1998,
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
began trials, using New Flyer Industries bus bodies and Ballard Power Systems hydrogen fuel cells. The three-year trial carried more than 200,000 passengers and travelled over . From 2000, Hino and
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
collaborated on the development of FCHV-BUS, a hydrogen fuel cell bus. After initial trials by
Toei Bus The is a bus service operated by the Bus Service Division, the . It is also called . The bureau mainly operates bus routes in the special wards of Tokyo, as well as those in the city of Ōme in the western Tama Area. It creates a virtual mo ...
in 2003, a fleet of 8 FCHV-BUS buses were then used at
Expo 2005 Expo 2005 was a world expo held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city of Nagoya. Japan has also hosted Expo '70 Osaka (World Expo), Expo '75 Okinawa (Specialised Expo) ...
in
Aichi, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...
. During the Expo, they carried one million visitors and travelled about 130,000 kilometres. The buses were subsequently used as airport shuttle buses. In the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and ...
(NERL) in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
has been undertaking research work on hydrogen fuel cell buses since 2000, in collaboration with the
Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
.
AC Transit AC Transit is the main Public transport bus service, bus transit operator in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. AC Transit is the third largest bus operator in California, serving the western portions of Alameda and C ...
in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
began trials of a hydrogen fuel cell bus in 2002.


Clean Urban Transport for Europe

From 2001, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
supported research project Clean Urban Transport for Europe (CUTE) began running hydrogen fuel cell powered buses in nine European cities, including
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
. The project was supported by a consortium of transportation operators, hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell developers, universities and city authorities. Three other cities –
Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
,
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
and
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
– took part in similar demonstration projects, supported by the same consortium. The Fuel Cell Bus Club became a forum to share experiences and information between cities and researchers. All three projects used Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses, with hydrogen fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems. At the time they claimed to be the largest fleet of fuel cell buses in the world. The buses were estimated to cost
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
1.2
million 1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the ...
each and had a range of and carried around 70 passengers. Completed in 2007, the projects were deemed a success by researchers. However, the buses were criticised by some operators for their high cost of operation, with Madrid reporting that they were around ten times as costly to fuel. Dedicated hydrogen filling stations were also required to be built. The buses in Beijing – the first fuel cell buses in China – were withdrawn after one year, as air pollution reduced the efficiency and operating life of the fuel cells.


Further development

In 2006, the Federal Transit Administration announced the National Fuel Cell Bus Technology Development Program. $49 million in federal grants would be provided to transit agencies to help develop and test hydrogen fuel cell buses, to improve the potential commercialisation of them. In 2003,
AC Transit AC Transit is the main Public transport bus service, bus transit operator in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. AC Transit is the third largest bus operator in California, serving the western portions of Alameda and C ...
introduced a Thor “ThunderPower” bus into trial service, with tests complete by October 2004. In 2006, five
Van Hool Van Hool NV () was a Belgium, Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, Coach (bus), coaches, trolleybuses, and Semi-trailer, trailers. Most of the buses and coaches were built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from C ...
buses powered by
UTC Power UTC Power was a fuel cell company based in South Windsor, Connecticut. It was part of United Technologies Corporation; it was purchased by ClearEdge Power in February 2013. The company specialized in fuel cells for Stationary fuel cell applicat ...
fuel cells entered service. These were replaced in 2010 by other Van Hool hydrogen fuel cell buses. In 2009,
BC Transit BC Transit is a provincial Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation responsible for coordinating the delivery of public transportation within British Columbia, Canada, outside Greater Vancouver. BC Transit is headquartered in Victoria, Bri ...
began operating fuel-cell buses in the town of Whistler in
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, prior to the
2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
. The fleet of 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses was the largest in the world at the time, with the project costing around $94 million. Unlike previous projects, the hydrogen used was blue hydrogen, produced by
Air Liquide Air Liquide S.A. ( , ; literally " liquid air") is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is ...
in Quebec using
hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
. Due to high operating costs, the program halted in 2015. The first
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian hydrogen fuel cell bus prototype began operation in
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
in 2009. The hydrogen bus was manufactured in
Caxias do Sul Caxias do Sul () is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, situated in the state's mountainous Serra Gaúcha region. It was established by Italian Brazilian, Italian immigrants on June 20, 1890. Today it is the second Largest cities in R ...
. The programme, called "''Ônibus Brasileiro a Hidrogênio''" (Brazilian Hydrogen Autobus), includes three additional buses. In 2010, eight hydrogen buses were introduced into service in London, with a substantially larger range than the fuel cell buses used in the mid-2000s. At the time, this was the largest hydrogen bus fleet in Europe.
Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
acknowledged the high cost of the buses and the high cost in fuelling them, but noted that they " xpectedthe costs to drop dramatically" as they become commercially viable. In China, hydrogen fuel cell buses were used at
Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...
,
Expo 2010 Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...
in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
and the
2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), were a regional multi-sport event held from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (although several events commenced ear ...
in
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
. These buses were developed by
Higer Bus Higer Bus Company Limited, also known as Higer Bus, is a Chinese bus manufacturer based in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. It was established at the end of 1998. HIGER is China's leading exporter of buses and coaches, whose units are available in mo ...
, with 3 deployed at Beijing 2008 and 196 at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. In March 2015, Europe's largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses entered service in
Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberd ...
. 10
Van Hool Van Hool NV () was a Belgium, Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, Coach (bus), coaches, trolleybuses, and Semi-trailer, trailers. Most of the buses and coaches were built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from C ...
buses were used on a five-year trial.


Large scale commercial introduction

As of 2020, 5,648 hydrogen fuel cell buses are in use around the world, with 93.7% of them in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Some early adopters of fuel cell buses have opted to focus on battery electric buses, with London having 950 battery electric buses, and 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses in their fleet as of 2023. In 2015,
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
began testing their updated hydrogen fuel cell bus in Tokyo, the Toyota FC Bus. Developed in conjunction with
Hino Motors Hino Motors, Ltd., commonly known as Hino, is a Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines (including those for trucks, buses and other vehicles) headquartered in Hino, Tokyo. The company was established in 1942 as a corpora ...
, it utilised technology from the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car, as well as from Hino's hybrid buses. In 2017, Toyota unveiled the Toyota Sora bus, with production beginning in March 2018. By 2020, over 100 Toyota Sora buses had been delivered, operating on the Tokyo BRT, JR Bus Kanto and
Toei Bus The is a bus service operated by the Bus Service Division, the . It is also called . The bureau mainly operates bus routes in the special wards of Tokyo, as well as those in the city of Ōme in the western Tama Area. It creates a virtual mo ...
. In 2018, Toyota announced that they would be supplying their hydrogen fuel cell technology to Portuguese bus manufacturer Caetano, for buses to be sold in Europe. The Caetano H2.City Gold has achieved numerous sales, such in
Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...
,
Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...
, and
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. Caetano has subsequently begun to brand the bus as a "Toyota", after Toyota became a majority shareholder. In China, the Feichi (Allenbus) company began manufacturing hydrogen fuel cell buses in
Yunfu Yunfu (), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was postal map romanization, formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in we ...
after licensing the fuel cell technology from Ballard. The hydrogen fuel cell is combined with a 36kWh
Lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energ ...
, which powers the electric motors. Over 300 Feichi buses are now in service in the city of
Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...
in
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
province in China. Other manufacturers in China also began to produce hydrogen fuel cell buses. Zhongtong Bus began a
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
programme in 2014, and began producing buses in 2016. In 2018,
Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest ...
ordered 74 hydrogen fuel cell buses in preparation for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. During the Games, over 800 hydrogen fuel cell buses and coaches were used from manufacturers Foton,
Yutong Yutong (officially Zhengzhou Yutong Group Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles, especially electric buses, headquartered in Zhengzhou, Henan. Yutong also has businesses in construction machinery, real estate, and other in ...
,
Geely Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (ZGH), commonly known as Geely Holding ( ; ), is a Chinese multinational automotive conglomerate headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The company was founded by, and is privately owned by Chinese entrepre ...
and Zhongtong Bus. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were chosen over battery electric vehicles due to the cold weather prevalent in
Hebei Province Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
. The substantial use of hydrogen was criticised, given that much of China's hydrogen is " black hydrogen", produced by burning coal. This meant that each kilo of hydrogen produced around 15–20 kg of CO2. Launched in 2017, the Hyundai Elec City entered commercial service in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
in December 2019. By June 2021, 108 buses were in service across South Korea. Trial operations of the ElecCity with Wiener Linien in
Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
were planned from November 2021, with further tests in Germany also announced. The ElecCity has a range of over , and a maximum output of 180 kW. The cities of
Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...
and
Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...
announced in 2022 that they planned to introduce over 620 buses by 2025. In 2019, Polish bus manufacturer
Solaris Bus & Coach Solaris Bus & Coach sp z o.o. is a Polish manufacturer of public transport vehicles (buses, trolleybuses and trams), with its headquarters in Bolechowo-Osiedle near Poznań. It is a subsidiary of Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones ...
announced a hydrogen fuel cell bus on their popular Urbino 12 platform. This was subsequently tested by a range of major operators including RATP in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and ordered by European bus operators including
Connexxion Connexxion formerly Transdev#Netherlands, Transdev Netherlands, Veolia Transport Nederland, Veolia Transport Nederlands and Connex Netherlands is a large Public transport in the Netherlands, public transport company in the Netherlands, operatin ...
, ÖBB Postbus, and MPK Poznań. In 2022, Solaris announced a hydrogen fuel cell version of their Urbino 18
articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a ...
at InnoTrans 2022. In 2020, the city of
Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...
in China announced they planned to replace their entire 7,000 battery electric bus fleet with better performing hydrogen fuel cell/battery hybrid buses. , the NERL was continuing work to evaluate fuel cell bus projects in the U.S., with 64 buses in service in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
and
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. AC Transit has the largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses in the United States, with 22 buses in service from
Van Hool Van Hool NV () was a Belgium, Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, Coach (bus), coaches, trolleybuses, and Semi-trailer, trailers. Most of the buses and coaches were built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from C ...
and
New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational Bus manufacturing, bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing ...
. This will allow a direct comparison between battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses, to guide future purchasing decisions in light of a desire for a zero emission bus fleet. AC Transit noted that they had the "most comprehensive zero-emission bus (ZEB) program in the United States", and had run of service with zero emission buses since 2000. In June 2021, the world's first hydrogen fuel cell double-decker bus (
Wright StreetDeck Hydroliner The Wright StreetDeck is an integral double-decker bus manufactured by Wrightbus since 2014, originally delivered as standard with a Daimler AG, Daimler OM934 diesel engine. Hybrid-electric, full-electric and hydrogen-powered variants have subse ...
) entered service with
Metroline Metroline is a bus operator operating primarily in Greater London and partially in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro and operates bus services for London Buses under contract to Transport for Lon ...
in London on route 7. These buses also entered service in
Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberd ...
. The Hydroliner FCEV was developed as part of the European Union 'Joint Initiative for Hydrogen Vehicles across Europe' (JIVE). Other bus manufacturers continued to enter the hydrogen fuel cell market, with
Iveco Iveco S.p.A., an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company with headquarters in Turin, Italy. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy Commercial vehicle, commercial veh ...
announcing a memorandum of understanding with
Air Liquide Air Liquide S.A. ( , ; literally " liquid air") is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is ...
to develop 'hydrogen mobility', and
Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom, with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, ...
announcing a 'next generation' double decker bus. New manufacturers also planned to enter the market, such as Hyzon Motors. Other countries continued to investigate the potential of hydrogen fuel cell buses, with
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
announcing a pilot of Kamaz buses in 2022. In May 2022, , the public transport operator for
Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...
ordered up to 100 hydrogen fuel cell buses from Solaris and Wrightbus. This followed the announcement of the 'National Hydrogen Strategy' in Germany, which made clear that hydrogen fuel cell buses were a feasible alternative for long-distance routes. Mercedes-Benz announced that their popular eCitaro bus would be made available with a
range extender A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The ...
using a Toyota hydrogen fuel cell. This would increase the range of the bus to . In July 2022,
Île-de-France Mobilités Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) is the governmental authority ( EPA) that controls and coordinates the different companies operating the Paris-area public transport network and the rest of the Île-de-France region. In this capacity, it issu ...
(IDFM) ordered 47 fuel cell buses for the
Grand Paris The Metropolis of Greater Paris (, ),There is an English translation. also known as Greater Paris, is a ''métropole'' covering the Paris, City of Paris and its nearest surrounding suburbs that was created from Sarkozy's renovation of the city. ...
region in France at a cost of €48m. Green hydrogen will be used, with the hydrogen produced at an incinerator in Creteil. The managing director of IDFM stated that they wished to send a signal with their first order that bus manufacturers should "improve the technology, bring it to maturity, produce it ommerciallyand we will be there". In July 2022, over five hundred Foton AUV buses joined the Beijing Public Transport Group. Media reported that the buses have a range of around 600 km, and can be refilled in around 10 to 15 minutes. These buses had previously been used at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. In August 2022, India's first domestically developed hydrogen fuel bus was unveiled in
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
. The bus was developed by KPIT Technologies and the
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR; IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada'') is a research and development (R&D) organisation in India to promote scientific, industrial and economic growth. Headquarter ...
. In 2022,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
's MTA announced that they would trial hydrogen fuel cell buses, funded by a grant from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The first two buses ( New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE H2) will be launched in
The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
by late 2024. The MTA announced that its entire bus fleet will be zero-emission by 2040. In 2023, issues regarding the cost of hydrogen compared to electricity led to several transit agencies cancelling their orders. However other agencies continued to order fuel cell buses – with TPER in
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
ordering 130 buses from Solaris, Seoul ordering 1,300 buses from Hyundai and SamTrans ordering 108 buses from New Flyer. In October 2023, Santa Cruz Metro in
Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish language, Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population ...
ordered 57 fuel cell buses at a cost of $87 million, after tests showed that fully loaded battery electric buses were not suited to the hilly roads of the area. A 2023 research paper estimated that just 4% of zero emission vehicles will be hydrogen fuel cell powered by 2044, with a "low penetration of fuel cell city buses" located only in countries with hydrogen infrastructure and on bus routes where it is unfeasible for battery electric buses to operate. The paper also noted potential for intercity coaches and buses to be powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Other reports indicated growth in fuel cell buses, with Solaris indicating that they had over 500 buses on order, with a 44% market share for fuel cell buses in Europe. In January 2024, Barcelona's
TMB TMB may refer to: Organizations *Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited, India *Texas Medical Board * Thai Military Bank * Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, Spain Places *Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport near Miami, Florida, US, IATA code *Tsing M ...
ordered 38 hydrogen fuel cell buses from Solaris at a cost of €23.4 million, with green hydrogen produced by
Iberdrola Iberdrola, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. It has around 40,000 employees and serves around 30 million customers. Subsidiary, Subsidiaries include ScottishPower (United Kingdom), Ava ...
in the Zona Franca area of the city. In April 2024, US manufacturer
Gillig Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and Bus manufacturing, manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay A ...
announced that they would introduce a hydrogen fuel cell bus by 2026, with a powertrain from
BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...
and fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems.


Comparison with battery electric buses

Buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells have some similarities with
battery electric bus A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source. Battery electric buses offer the potential for z ...
es, as well as key differences. Both types are zero-emission at the tailpipe, with hydrogen fuel cell buses producing
water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
. However many sources of hydrogen, including those most commonly used, are not zero-emission. Both are propelled by
electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
s, and both have been produced by a range of bus manufacturers. Both have upfront costs – such as electric chargers, or a hydrogen fuelling station. Unlike battery electric buses, hydrogen fuel cell buses can be refuelled in around 10 minutes, compared to an overnight charge for electric buses (or an energy intensive, high current fast charge of a battery). Hydrogen fuel cell buses have a greater range and longer run time than battery electric buses, with a range of around before refuelling – compared to around between charges for a battery electric bus. Hydrogen also has a higher energy storage density than batteries. Furthermore, as batteries are made larger to increase range – they become heavier, decreasing energy efficiency. Hydrogen fuel cell buses therefore weigh less than battery electric buses – up to lighter. Hydrogen fuel cell buses are less affected by temperature, with consistent power and range at extreme hot or cold temperatures. Operators of battery electric buses have reported shorter range in low temperatures, with
Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe The (German: 'Berlin Transport Company') is the main public transport company of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It manages the city's (underground), trams in Berlin, tram, bus transport in Berlin, bus, replacement services (EV) and fe ...
(BVG) reporting a 30% shorter range in cold weather (around ). Battery electric buses are more efficient than hydrogen fuel cell buses on an energy basis, owing to the relative inefficiency of a hydrogen fuel cell compared to a battery. The cost of fuelling Hydrogen buses is higher than battery buses. Costs of both battery electric buses and hydrogen fuel cell buses has fallen over time.


Range extender

Some manufacturers have used hydrogen fuel cells as a
range extender A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The ...
for battery electric buses, allowing them to have greater range. For example, the
Mercedes-Benz eCitaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-deck bus, single-decker, Rigid bus, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout ...
has a range of as a battery electric model, with the eCitaro fuel cell bus having a range of thanks to a 60 kW Toyota fuel cell that recharges the battery.


Costs

, research shows that hydrogen fuel cell buses are more expensive to operate than battery electric buses, owing to the higher cost of the vehicles and the hydrogen fuel used, as well as the inefficiency of using a hydrogen fuel cell compared to a battery.


Hydrogen fuel

The cost of fuelling buses has varied substantially, due to the cost and availability of hydrogen. Some transit operators have been able to use hydrogen
by-product A by-product or byproduct is a secondary product derived from a production process, manufacturing process or chemical reaction; it is not the primary product or service being produced. A by-product can be useful and marketable or it can be cons ...
from industrial processes (such as the production of
Polyvinyl chloride Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons of ...
) to lower the cost. Other transit operators have built small scale plants to produce hydrogen from natural gas ( brown hydrogen), or have purchased it directly from industrial producers. Campaigners have criticised the use of brown hydrogen to power the buses, in light of the
carbon footprint A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a calculated value or index that makes it possible to compare the total amount of greenhouse gases that an activity, product, company or country Greenhouse gas emissions, adds to the atmospher ...
created by the industrial process.
Green hydrogen Green hydrogen (GH2 or GH2) is hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water, using renewable electricity. Production of green hydrogen causes significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than production of grey hydrogen, which is derived fr ...
– hydrogen produced using renewable energy – is generally considered to be too expensive. In 2006, the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and ...
stated that the cost of hydrogen fuel was around $9 a kilogram, roughly comparing it to $2 a gallon for diesel. It further noted that the total cost per mile (including maintenance) was around $1 per mile for diesel and around $6.50 per mile for hydrogen. In Europe, the Clean Urban Transport for Europe (CUTE) project in the early 2000s reported fuelling costs around 10 times more than diesel. In 2021, reported that the cost of fuelling a hydrogen fuel cell bus is around 2.6 times higher than an equivalent diesel bus, with brown hydrogen predominately used in Japan. In January 2022, the city of
Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
, France, cancelled a contract to procure 51 buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells, when it found that the cost of operation was 6 times more expensive than electric buses. The city ordered battery electric buses instead. In 2021, reported that their hydrogen fuel cell buses cost around the same as their diesel buses to operate. London reported that the cost of hydrogen was around £6 per kilogram in 2023, roughly comparable with the cost of diesel fuel. Santa Cruz noted in 2023 that hydrogen cost around $9 to $13 a gallon (compared to around $6 a gallon for diesel fuel), however they noted that fuel cell buses get "more than twice as much mileage out of a gallon-equivalent of hydrogen as a gallon of diesel", making direct comparisons between the two fuels challenging. Projections from the Hydrogen Council are that hydrogen produced from renewable energy at scale could cost around $1.4 to $2.3 per kilogram.


Vehicles

Costs of fuel cell buses has gradually fallen as technology has become more widespread and commercially viable. In 2007, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory stated that the purchase price of a hydrogen fuel cell bus was around $2–3m, a standard diesel bus was around $330,000 and a hybrid bus was around $480,000. in
Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...
reported that the Phileas bus cost them €1.86 million to purchase in 2011, a Van Hool A330 cost around €850,000 to purchase in 2014 and €590,000 to purchase in 2020, and that prices had fallen further – with new hydrogen fuel cell buses costing around €500,000 in 2023. In 2022, the
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
reported that the Japanese Toyota FC Sora cost ¥100 million (€710,000) for a six-year lease, whereas a diesel bus costs around ¥24 million (€170,000). Local authorities have subsidised the cost of the buses to get them into service. In South Korea, the government subsidises the purchase of ₩700 million (€470,000) buses by ₩300 million (€200,000), protecting domestic industry from Chinese built battery electric buses. In the United States, it was reported in 2022 that a hydrogen bus cost around $1.2 million to purchase, compared to $750,000 for a battery electric bus.
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
noted that European produced fuel cell buses are cheaper as they are produced in larger quantities. Research groups such as H2Bus Consortium are working to lower the cost of hydrogen fuel cell buses to the level of diesel buses, with volume orders and mass production allowing manufacturers to take advantage of economies of scale.


Other costs

When compared to diesel buses, transit operators face additional upfront costs when moving to hydrogen fuel cell buses. This includes constructing hydrogen fuelling stations, as well as purchasing spare parts for new buses.
Battery electric bus A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source. Battery electric buses offer the potential for z ...
es have similar upfront costs, requiring the installation of electric chargers and upgrades to the
electrical grid An electrical grid (or electricity network) is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power tran ...
to handle large numbers of electric buses being charged (often overnight).


Vehicles

, 5,648 hydrogen fuel cell buses are in use around the world, with 93.7% of them in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. A wide variety of companies are currently producing hydrogen fuel cell buses. Bus manufacturers usually work with a provider of hydrogen fuel cells to power the bus, such as Ballard Power Systems or
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
. Vehicles include, but are not limited to:


See also

*
Fuel cell vehicle A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate el ...
* List of fuel cell vehicles * List of buses


References


External links


H2mobility.org
Hydrogen buses worldwide ead Linkbr>Toyota FCHV-BUS data sheetInternational Fuel Cell Bus Collaborative
ead Link {{buses Fuel cell buses Energy technology