The two buses will be built on the chassis of a Ford E-450 and a Ford F-53, which will integrate fuel cell and electric propulsion systems from Ideanomic’s subsidiary, US Hybrid, while A-1 will provide fuel storage and delivery systems.
Set to be developed at facilities in Wisconsin and Indiana, US, A-1 has said its systems will utilise Luxfer Gas Cylinders’ Type-3 hydrogen tanks, suitable for use at 120oC.
H2 View understands the buses will be tested at the Altoona bus testing centre in Pennsylvania, US, and are hoped to achieve Environment Protection Agency (EPA), and California Air Resources Board (CARB) certification.
Once completed, the consortium have said the two buses will enter service for a 12 month demonstration period, operated by a California public transit authority. It is hoped the buses will be commercially available for purchase in the second half of 2023.
“With support from South Coast AQMD and SoCalGas, we are accelerating the deployment of hydrogen technology in the transportation sector,” said Kevin Gilio, Vice-President of Sales at A-1. “Together with US Hydrogen and others in the consortium, we will introduce extended-range zero-emission shuttle bus solutions for the transition industry.”
The project has been supported by funding from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD), and SoCalGas.
In August (2022), SoCalGas announced it planned to develop a hydrogen-powered Ford F-550 super-duty truck.
Read more: SoCalGas, Ford to collaborate on hydrogen-powered F-550 trial
H2 View’s Hydrogen Mobility Snap Summit – November 29
With the mobility pillar consistently a hot topic for hydrogen markets and arguably the most anticipated and relatable application of the energy transition, H2 View stages a Mobility Snap Summit this November to summarise the progress made in 2022 and look ahead to what’s still to come.
Infrastructure challenges remain. Questions linger over policy and implementation. Many wonder which strand of the transport sector will blaze the trail in hydrogen power first, and likewise which region. There are clear challenges ahead, yet considerable progress made in 2022 and bright spots ahead in 2023 and beyond.
Join H2 View this November for a half-day online event dedicated to unearthing the progress made, dissecting the challenges to be met and establishing the state-of-play across mobility as 2023 approaches. Find more information here.
Premium Subscribers to H2 View have access to this event as part of their subscription package; non-subscribers can secure access to the event with a delegate ticket ($99). All delegates can access the event on-demand from 1st December.