The future has arrived – Hydrogen Buses

Tuesday 23 August 2022

It is with great excitement Foton Mobility and Transit Systems announce an Australian first, the arrival of two hydrogen fuel cell buses - marking a new era in mass transport sustainability.

The hydrogen buses are equipped with the fuel cell system jointly developed by SinoHytec and Toyota, after 10 years of development to reach the point of commercial readiness.

The hydrogen fuel cell buses have been added to Transit Systems growing green fleet of sustainable transport solutions, which now includes 60 electric buses and two hydrogen buses – making Transit Systems, which is part of the Kelsian Group, Australia’s most innovative and experienced sustainable public transport operator.

Neil Wang, CEO, Foton Mobility Australia said the hydrogen buses are in their infancy in Australia but they have great potential.

“Given our vast land and need for immediate carbon emission reduction in the transport area, hydrogen fuel cell buses are an important part of the mass transport landscape.

“Our bus operator clients are ready to make the leap to hydrogen and have scope to include them in their fleet. Transit Systems is the first client to take on the Zero Emissions challenge in battery electric buses - and now in hydrogen city buses.”

Foton Mobility Australia are proud to be the sole Australian distributor of Foton New Energy vehicles in Australia. Foton have now manufactured and delivered in excess of 1100 of this model, including the 450 which were provided to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

“We now have operating data from over 13,000,000km of run time, providing clients like Transit Systems, and their network partners, with the confidence that they are operating proven technology, and proven reliability,” he said.

Transit Systems Chief Operating Officer, Greg Balkin said that the two new Foton Mobility hydrogen fuel cell buses are nearly complete.

“We are engaged in exciting deployment discussions with clients, with the hydrogen fuel cell buses offering the opportunity to work with us to set another Australian record in sustainable transport.

“This is without a doubt, one of the most exciting periods in public transport as we work with our clients to transition to Zero Emission public transport through battery electric bus and hydrogen fuel cell applications,” he said.

Mr Balkin said that Transit Systems is proud to work with Government partners and industry stakeholders to bring the very latest technology and innovations into Australia.

“We successfully operated hydrogen fuel cell buses in London for over 7 years, and have continued to leverage that experience, knowledge and contacts to pave the way for a diesel-free bus fleet in Australia,” he said.

“We are confident that our efforts will further drive the performance of hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric technology and accelerate the deployment of more sustainable public transport in Australia,” he said.

Kelsian Group CEO Clint Feuerherdt said the new hydrogen fuel cell buses reflect Kelsian’s continued investment into research and development and being ready to deploy proven solutions.

“We have the greenest bus fleet in the country and we are proud to once again raise the bar and offer our Government partners the opportunity to set a new sustainability benchmark in Australian public transport,” he said.