Hydrogenics Fuel Cell Midibus
| Hydrogenics | |
|---|---|
Bus at the Hanover Fair 2006 |
|
| Fuel Cell Midibus | |
| Manufacturer | Tecnobus |
| design type | City bus , low-floor bus |
| Production period | 2005 |
| axes | 2 |
| engine | Fuel cell: 14 kW, electric motor: 24.8 kW |
| length | 5.30 m |
| width | 2.07 m |
| height | 2.875 m |
| Seats | 22nd |
The Hydrogenics Fuel Cell Midibus is a fuel cell bus that has been tested in small series in public trials since 2005.
The Canadian company Hydrogenics develops fuel cells for stationary operation and the transport sector. Some vehicles were built directly by Hydrogenics and other vehicles around the world were equipped with them by various system integrators. The German branch is developing several small fuel cell buses for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the EU funding project HyChain.
These buses are based on the Gulliver U520ESP battery bus from the Italian company Tecnobus. Hydrogenics replaced the standard batteries with smaller ones and created a roof structure in which two hydrogen tanks with a capacity of 200 liters each at 200 bar pressure and the HyPM 10 fuel cell with 14 kW gross and 10 kW net power were installed. The buses are powered by a 24.8 kW DC motor . In 2005 the first fuel cell midibus was presented at the Hanover Fair . At the end of 2005 it was approved for road use by the TÜV and in 2006 this bus was in regular service at the Hanover Fair as a shuttle bus between the exhibition halls.
Also in 2006, a fuel cell midibus was handed over to the Rheinbahn and the special transport service Ohlmann in Düsseldorf . Except for the paintwork, these vehicles correspond to the first bus and are mainly used at Messe Düsseldorf . For the Hanover Fair 2008 the Rheinbahn bus was used as a shuttle between the halls.
At the end of 2007 the Lazio region around Rome received a bus, which was only presented to the public at the end of 2008 for the H2Roma exhibition.
At the Expo 2008 in Saragossa , three Hydrogenics midibuses were in use. These have a water drop pattern matching the theme of the expo, "Water", and were funded by the HyChain project.
At the end of April 2009, two more buses were delivered to the Vestische trams and assigned there under the car numbers 2398 and 2399. These buses were also funded by HyChain.
Hydrogenics is currently building another bus for the Spanish city of Soria .