The interurban bus will be operational in Chile and will work alongside Buses Hualpén, Anglo American, Copec and Linde.
The bus is powered by a 120kW SinoHytec G120 hydrogen fuel cell and has the ability to carry 47 passengers and will be able to travel up to 400 km with fully charged fully charged batteries and a full hydrogen tank. The bus is also equipped with multiple safety features, including, lane departure warnings (LDWS), advanced emergency braking (AEBS) and finally, stability control (ESC).
Whilst the majority of the bus was developed by Andes Motor and Foton, Copec Voltex and Linde developed the vehicle’s charging strategy and Linde was responsible for providing the bus with hydrogen.
The Electromobility Manager for Andes Motor’s, Cristián Contreras, said, “The arrival of the first hydrogen bus in the country reaffirms our vocation to contribute to transportation with Avant-grade, efficient and environmentally friendly solutions, from which we can all benefit. 1,347 Foton electric buses are already in circulation operation in the RED Metropolitan Transportation System and now we are presenting an attractive option that uses hydrogen for medium-distance transportation, which is also zero emissions.”
Operating the bus will be Buses Hualpén, and Hualpén’s General Manage, Daniel González, said, “In our task of connecting thousands of people from different industries in Chile, we are committed to use more and more state-of-the-art equipment, and we do it as a commitment to our clients and to the country.”
The General Manager at Linde, Agustín Amadeo, added that the company has been “focused on adding value, promoting the energy transition, with the aim of seeking carbon neutrality in different sectors,” this has been applied in a high concentration to medium and long-distance transportation.
The company is also already looking ahead to future improvements and changes they could make to this bus, with one of these changes being the aim to run it off of green hydrogen one day. Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Juan Pablo Schaeffer, said, “Our team of experts will participate in the field tests and, although in the first instance this bus will operate with conventional hydrogen, we hope that – in the future – this type of vehicle will be fuelled wit green hydrogen through the streets of our country, for example, in public transport.”
This aim to run the bus off of green hydrogen, was generated after the hydrogen bus projects partner, Anglo American, researched the development of a green hydrogen valley in Chile. After finding that this idea was both feasible and realistic, the project has decided to consider it as a potential investment for the future due to the benefits to the community and the environment it would provide.