Hyundai plans to begin trials of its hydrogen-powered buses in Germany within the next several weeks.
The Elec City Fuel Cell bus will operate on existing routes in Munich, transporting people.
The buses, which can drive more than 310 miles on a single hydrogen fill-up, have been commercially available in Korea since 2019 and a total of 108 have been put into service.
“With our leading fuel cell technology, Hyundai Motor is demonstrating how mass-produced Elec City Fuel Cell buses can help reduce CO2 emissions while providing clean mobility. Running these in-service trials will help us further develop our vehicles to meet European customer requirements.” said Martin Zeilinger Executive Vice President and Head of CV Development Tech Unit
The bus is equipped with a 180kW fuel hydrogen fuel cell system that consists of two 90kW hydrogen fuel cells and five hydrogen tanks with a combined capacity of 34kg.
The buses have cut carbon emissions by an estimated 7,700 tonnes in Korea to date as compared to conventional diesel or gasoline-powered buses. Annually, the hydrogen-powered buses now in operation are estimated to save an amount of CO2 similar to that filtered by 1,500 hectares of forest.
The experiments will collect driver and passenger input in order to determine whether hydrogen-powered buses are commercially viable.
