you are here:  »  The technology  »  The bus

The bus

The first bus in the HyMove project will be a showpiece that will ensure high visibility of the project in the region. The bus will initially be used for demonstration and promotion purposes, but from the beginning of 2011 it will be used in the normal Connexxion timetable.

The technical concept of the bus is highly innovative. An existing VDL Ambassador Low-Entry bus has been converted for the project. The HyMove bus is equipped with electric wheel hub motors from the Apeldoorn company e-Traction, batteries and hydrogen tanks on the roof, and a fuel cell from NedStack in Arnhem. The wheel hub motors provide the rear wheels with direct electric drive. The bus has no conventional internal combustion engine and no moving parts such as a gearbox or a differential. Only a couple of cables are required for connecting the electronics to the drive. The absence of moving parts obviously makes the bus more maintenance-friendly.

Electrical energy is stored in a package of lithium-ion batteries installed on the bus roof. At the back of the bus there is a fuel cell, which converts hydrogen into electricity that can be stored in the batteries. The hydrogen tanks, which are also on the roof, can carry 15 kilos of hydrogen, giving the bus a range of some 200 kilometres. This means that the bus can run in service for a day.

The drive system in the bus has major benefits compared with traditional drive trains. Direct drive gives a considerable increase in vehicle efficiency, as a result of which the bus is twice as economical as the same bus with a conventional drive system would be. In addition to this, the bus has absolutely no emissions and it is as quiet as a mouse. There are also a number of practical benefits, such as being able to program and monitor the systems in the bus remotely.