RDW approval for the HyMove bus

The HyMove bus was approved by the Rijksdienst van het Wegverkeer (Road Transport Directorate) at the beginning of February. It now has an EW registration plate (Elektriciteit en Waterstof: Electricity and Hydrogen) and is permitted to run on public roads all across the Netherlands.

The HyMove bus was approved by the Rijksdienst van het Wegverkeer (Road Transport Directorate) at the beginning of February. It has an EW registration plate (Elektriciteit en Waterstof: Electricity and Hydrogen) and is permitted to run on public roads not just in the Arnhem region but all across the Netherlands.

Jan van Beckhoven, director of the Stichting Waterstof Onderneming Gelderland, said about the approval: “The approval process took about a year. Dealing with the regulations concerning vehicles running on hydrogen was a new experience for the RDW, so we had many discussions with them because it was a learning process for both parties. We have set up meticulous procedures and safety measures in order to comply with the regulations. One of the most difficult issues addressed towards the end was achieving the maximum pressure of 350 bar in the tanks, which was necessary because a safety test had to be carried out at that level.” Approval of the HyMove bus is a major stage in the HyMove project, according to Van Beckhoven. “Now that the bus complies with the regulations, we can go ahead at full speed with training drivers and introducing the hydrogen bus at Connexxion.”

At the same time there was a request to the municipal and provincial authorities to grant an exemption from the Wegenverkeerswet [Road Traffic Act] for the bus and the Fiat Doblo also running on hydrogen that was officially handed over to the Municipality of Arnhem at the opening of the hydrogen filling station in December 2010. The exemption has since been granted, so the bus and the car can now both take to the road. The Stichting Waterstof Onderneming Gelderland has had frequent contact with the emergency services in order to prepare for the granting of the exemption. “The police and the fire and rescue service are fully aware of the operation and possible risks of hydrogen-powered vehicles. The control room can take action immediately in the event of an emergency involving the bus or the Fiat. In collaboration with the Municipality of Arnhem, we have made arrangements with the emergency services and have drawn up protocols. This collaboration guarantees the safe running of vehicles powered by hydrogen”, says Van Beckhoven.

The Fiat Doblo is currently going through the approvals procedure at the RDW. It will therefore soon be running on local public roads, and after approval by the RDW will be permitted to drive in the rest of the Netherlands as well.