Fuel cell electric buses provide affordable zero-emission transportation with no compromise in vehicle performance. Governments around the world are implementing clean energy transportation in direct response to harmful effects of air pollution caused by internal combustion engines. Zero-emission transit bus fleets powered by Ballard's fuel cell modules are an effective means to address air quality and climate change challenges.
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Fuel cells improve the performance of electric buses
by generating onboard power to re-charge batteries.Fuel cell electric buses deliver no emissions at the tailpipe with no compromise in service and operation compared to other zero-emission
technologies.
- Fuel cell electric buses deliver the required mix of emission reduction, fast refuelling speed, extended range and route flexibility
- Fuel cell electric buses are the only zero-emission direct 1:1 replacement for diesel and CNG buses
Fuel Cell Electric Bus Facts
Fuel cell electric buses manufactured and integrated by Ballard’s leading partners and equipped with Ballard motive modules offer a host of important attributes, including:
- Zero-emissions at the tailpipe
- 450 kilometer (300 mile) range between refuelings
- Rapid refueling in as little as 7 minutes
- Improved fuel economy compared to diesel buses (1.5x) and CNG buses (2x)
- Operating performance comparable to diesel and CNG buses
- Comparable durability, with fuel cells in transit buses having demonstrated over 25,000 operating hours without any significant degradation
- Route flexibility, with no need for en-route recharging
- No extra curb weight to maximize passenger capacity
- Reduced noise and smoother ride for improved passenger experience
- No disposal of toxic materials
Hydrogen
Fuel cell electric buses operate on hydrogen fuel.
- Hydrogen is a clean and safe energy carrier
- Hydrogen gas and infrastructure for bus depot are commercially available
- Hydrogen can be produced from natural gas, biogas, and electricity (including renewable sources)
Most of the hydrogen fuel used in transit bus applications is generated at large scale production facilities, delivered to bus depots and stored as a liquid or compressed gas. Hydrogen can also be produced on-site using an electrolyser or natural gas reformer. A bus is refueled using safe and widely available standard gas dispensing technology for commercial vehicles.
Hydrogen filling stations at transit depots are built to be scalable. The equipment is similar to a CNG station and a station can simply and cost effectively increase its capacity from 10 to 100 buses by upgrading the compression and storage equipment and adding dispensers.
