Fuel Cell Bus Club

See also: Fuel cell bus

The Fuel Cell Bus Club comprised the participants of three demonstration projects (CUTE, ECTOS and STEP) for fuel cell buses in nine European cities and two other worldwide cities between 2001 and 2007.[1][2] The Fuel Cell Bus Club became a forum to share experiences and information between cities and researchers.[3] Other cities such as Beijing also tested buses from the consortium behind the project.[4]

All three projects used Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses, with hydrogen fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems. When completed in 2007, all three projects were deemed a success by researchers.[5][6][7] However, the buses were criticised by some operators for their high cost of operation compared to diesel buses, with Madrid reporting that they were around ten times as costly to fuel.[8] Others noted the high purchase price of hydrogen buses,[9] and the need to build dedicated hydrogen filling stations.[8]

  1. ^ Vidueira, J.M.; Contreras, A.; Veziroglu, T.N. "PV autonomous installation to produce hydrogen via electrolysis, and its use in FC buses", International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. Sep2003, Vol. 28 Issue 9, p927. 11p. DOI: 10.1016/S0360-3199(02)00191-X
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Adamson, Kerry-Ann (November 2004). "Fuel Cell Market Survey: Buses" (PDF). Fuel Cell Today. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  4. ^ "First clean fuel buses running on Beijing roads". Gov.cn. 21 June 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  5. ^ Maack, Maria H.; Skulason, Jon Bjorn. "Implementing the hydrogen economy", Journal of Cleaner Production. Jan 2006, Vol. 14 Issue 1, p52-64. 13p. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.05.027.
  6. ^ Petrović, Jelica; Ivković, Ivan; Vujačić, Ivan; Žeželj, Srećko. "POSSIBILITIES OF BUSES ON ALTERNATIVE FUEL IN PUBLIC URBAN TRANSPORT IN BELGRADE", Technological & Economic Development of Economy. 2009, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p78-89.
  7. ^ COCKROFT, COLIN J.; OWEN, ANTHONY D. "The Economics of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses", Economic Record. Dec 2007, Vol. 83 Issue 263, p359-370. 12p. 10 Charts. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4932.2007.00426.x.
  8. ^ a b Dodson, Sean (2003-10-30). "All aboard the hydrogen bus". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  9. ^ Kettle, Jane (20 January 2005). "Hydrogen bus pilot hailed success so far". Edie. Retrieved 2023-01-10. The high cost of the hydrogen-powered buses is the main barrier at the moment