Metrobus selects Air Products as partner for pioneering hydrogen bus fleet
• Air Products to supply liquid hydrogen to fuel Metrobus’ new hydrogen vehicles
• Fleet of 20 hydrogen buses to be deployed in the Crawley, Horley and Gatwick Airport area
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus has agreed a 15-year hydrogen supply deal with Air Products, a world leading industrial gas company, to power a fleet of fuel cell buses for deployment in the Gatwick Airport, Crawley and Horley area.
Twenty of the single-decker GB Kite Hydroliner buses, manufactured by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland, will be delivered in June 2022 and will be the first hydrogen powered vehicles in the bus company’s fleet of around 400 buses. They are also the first hydrogen buses in Go-Ahead’s fleet of more than 6,000 buses, Metrobus’ parent company.
The buses will be deployed on the Metrobus Fastway route 10 in the Crawley, Redhill and Gatwick Airport area. Fastway is a network of guided busways and dedicated bus lanes designed to speed buses past congestion hotspots.
Hydrogen to fuel the buses will be produced from renewable energy from a variety of sources within the Air Products’ network. Hydrogen will be stored at Metrobus’ Crawley depot in liquid form, before being converted to gas held in tanks on the roof of vehicles.
The single-decker fuel cell buses are funded in part with money from UK government and European Union’s zero-emission bus schemes, plus investment from Gatwick Airport.
As well as having zero carbon emissions, hydrogen buses have long range capabilities and can be refuelled quickly in depots.
Ed Wills, Managing Director, Brighton & Hove and Metrobus, said: “We went through a rigorous process before selecting Air Products as our supplier. We were impressed not only with their environmental credentials but with the assurance that they would be ready to begin supplying us at volume from day one.”
Manish Patel, Air Products UK Hydrogen for Mobility Director, said: “We’re pleased to be partnering with Go-Ahead and Metrobus on the largest hydrogen supply contract for buses in the UK to date. It’s a huge milestone in the UK’s hydrogen for mobility sector.
“At Air Products, we’ve been involved in more than 13 million hydrogen vehicle fills across the world and have extensive experience over the last 60 years in delivering reliable end-to-end hydrogen solutions, from production to distribution and fuelling stations. Our innovative and unique solutions will provide Metrobus the infrastructure to not only fuel their initial fleet but allow for rapid expansion without additional footprint or cost.”
Go-Ahead is already the UK’s largest operator of zero-emission electric buses, with a fleet of nearly 300 nationwide, but this is the group’s first venture into hydrogen. Go-Ahead has set a target of transitioning to a zero-emission bus fleet across the UK by 2035.
Christian Schreyer, Group Chief Executive, Go-Ahead Group, said: “This is our first hydrogen supply deal and it represents a milestone in our plans to transition Go-Ahead’s entire fleet of buses to zero emission fuel.
“We’re delighted to be working with Air Products and with Wrightbus. This is an example of what can be achieved through a mixture of public and private funding, and of co-operation between different environmentally responsible partners.”
