Ballard Power Systems will use 12 FCmove-HD fuel cell modules to power 12 buses that will be deployed with SAS Bolzano, the public transport operator in Bolzano, Italy by 2021 under the Joint Initiative for Hydrogen Vehicles Across Europe (“JIVE”) funding program.

The Urbino 12 hydrogen model fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) by Solaris Bus & Coach, a leading European bus and trolleybus manufacturer, is capable of travelling 350km on a single hydrogen fuelling. The bus has an axle with two electric motors and a climate control system that uses the heat generated by the fuel cell module.

The 12 FCmove-HD modules by Ballard are expected to ship in 2020. Some of the many benefits of the FCmove-HD are:

• Lower lifecycle cost–with an expected 35% reduction in product lifecycle cost with lower maintenance requirements and 50% fewer parts.
• High reliability–with a new generation of balance-of-plant components using Ballard’s latest FCgen-LCS fuel cell stack technology that delivers an operating lifetime over 30,000 hours.
• Simplified System Integration–with more flexibility in commercial vehicle design, using a more compact and more powerful fuel cell module; reducing volume by 40% and weight by 35%.
• Freeze Start Capability–with tolerance to a wider range of operating conditions, including freeze start to -25⁰C without external energy, and without the need to plug in the vehicle.
• Higher Temperature Operations–with a smaller cooling package for integration flexibility, that generates HVAC heating to improve fuel economy and vehicle efficiency.

“We have collaborated with Solaris for a number of years and are very pleased to now provide our latest generation fuel cell power modules for the Bolzano deployment,” said Rob Campbell, Ballard Chief Commercial Officer. “This now brings the total number of Ballard fuel cell modules ordered for buses under the European JIVE program to 92, with deployments planned in Germany, France, the U.K.–including both England and Scotland–and now Italy.”

Both the electric bus and the modules were launched by their respective companies at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit 2019, in June in Stockholm, Sweden.