HyMove bus in Essen

The HyMove bus could be seen for the first time at the World Hydrogen Energy Conference 2010 in Essen in Germany this month.

The World Hydrogen Energy Conference 2010, which was held in Essen from 17 to 19 May, saw the world premiere. The HyMove hydrogen bus was shown to the public for the first time there. It is the eye-catcher in the HyMove project and will be used during events and demonstrations to let the public become familiar with hydrogen. It will be incorporated in the regular public transport timetable in Arnhem from 2011.

The drive system in the bus is highly innovative. The bus, an existing VDL Ambassador Low Entry, has two directly-driven electric rear wheels from e-Traction. Power is supplied by a package of lithium-ion batteries installed at the front of the bus roof. A fuel cell manufactured by Nedstack is fitted at the back of the bus and provides approximately 30kW of power. The hydrogen tanks, with a capacity of 15 kilos of hydrogen, are installed at the back of the roof. The batteries and the fuel cell give the bus a range of more than 200 kilometres. The emissions from the bus consist only of pure water.

The hydrogen bus will play a major part in the HyMove project, because the people taking the initiative regard public transport as an important way of boosting sustainable forms of mobility. Involved in the project are the Province of Gelderland, the Municipality of Arnhem, the Arnhem-Nijmegen Urban Region and the Connexxion public transport company. In their view hydrogen is an important tool for reducing traffic emissions in the urban environment. The application of hydrogen in public transport means that this innovation is highly visible and gets a great deal of attention.