Equipped with a fuel cell system jointly developed by SinoHytec and Toyota, the Foton New Energy bus model saw deployment at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Foton says it has now manufactured and delivered in excess of 1,100 of the vehicles.

Transit Systems Australia announced it had ordered the buses in May 2021, adding to its portfolio of zero-emission public transport vehicles.

Read more: Australia: Historic hydrogen bus order placed by Transit Systems

Neil Wang, CEO of Foton Mobility Australia, said the company has accumulated over 13,000,000km (8,077,825 miles) of run time, which he believes offers customers such as Transit Systems confidence in the technology.

Wang added, “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.”

Greg Balkin, Chief Operating officer at Transit Systems, said, “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.”