A presentation near Munich marked the debut of the first passenger bus to use a triple hybrid fuel cell system developed by Fuel Cell GmbH, a subsidiary of Proton Power Systems.
The vehicle has been born from co-operation between Skoda Electric, UJV Nuclear Research Institute and Proton Motor. Skoda Electric was responsible for the vehicle including its electric drive system and system integration. The project was then co-ordinated by UJV with Proton Motor supplying the propulsion system.
So how does the triple hybrid system work?
Well it combines a 50kW PM Basic A 50 fuel cell system with a battery pack and ultra-capacitors. With regenerative braking taken into account the system enables energy savings in excess of 50 per cent compared to a conventional diesel bus and is emission free in operation.
The vehicle itself is a basic 12 metre bus with a weight of 18tonnes. Its nominal output is 120kW and it has a maximum speed of 40mph. It carries around 20kg of compressed gaseous hydrogen at 350 bar and the filling process takes less than 10 minutes.
The vehicle is now scheduled to go into operation from mid-2009 onwards in Prague.
