The buses of London may be seen as iconic and historic, but they could soon be sent hurtling into a greener, modern era.
The Olympic Delivery Authority has granted planning permission for a hydrogen refuelling facility that would be built in east London as part of a milestone in bringing a fleet of five hydrogen fuel cell buses into service.
The buses will be run by transport operator First Group, which was granted permission for the facility that will be located at its bus garage on Temple Mills Lane, in Leyton.
It is expected that the hybrid fuel cell buses will join Transport for London’s bus fleet next year operating on runs between Covent Garden and Tower Gateway. They will be refuelled and maintained at the Temple Mills Lane site with US-based ISE Corp to supply the hydrogen buses while working with Ballard and Wrightbus, which will manufacture the bodywork and Air Products, which will supply the hydrogen from its facility in Rotterdam. ISE has already established itself as one of the leading suppliers of hybrid buses around the world.
Transport for London has also applied for additional funding from the European Union to increase its hydrogen bus fleet to eight buses. It is a member of the Hydrogen Bus Alliance, which sees members commit to the rapid development and commercialisation of hydrogen technology in the transport sector.
At the moment there are 56 hybrid buses in London’s bus fleet and Transport for London expects every new bus entering the fleet to be a hybrid from 2012 onwards. Work will begin on the refuelling station in the New Year and should be complete by the summer.
