Fuel cell buses will soon be on the roads in Norway after Ballard Power Systems entered into a contract to supply fuel cell power modules for five zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell buses operated by HyNor Oslo Buss group.
Ballard’s FCvelocity fuel cell module will be used in the buses after the company was contracted by Belgian coach manufacturer Van Hool NV. It is the sixth generation of the fuel cell module and comes in two ratings – 75kW and 150kW.
The fuel cell buses are expected to be put into regular passenger service by the end of 2011 and will be fuelled by clean hydrogen produced at the Rosenholm bus depot. It will be generated through the electrolysis of water using electrical energy from renewable sources and will therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 per cent compared to diesel or diesel hybrid buses.
The fleet will operate for around 20,000 hours per bus for up to 10 years with the project funded by Norwegian state and municipal governments.
