The deployment of hydrogen fuel in France seems to be going through mobility for buses. In France, the points concerning agglomerations or “hydrogen bus” cities are multiplying slowly… but surely.
EIn France, the local motorization, production and distribution of green hydrogen are still in their infancy. And the high cost of investing in a hydrogen bus solution requires strong motivation from local authorities. Deployment is done more from stations and “local” fleets captive by local authorities accompanied by developers, to ensure a territorial ecosystem of production and use. The idea of a national network of stations, which would involve much greater production of green hydrogen, is still a long way off. However, local initiatives suggest refueling points on the map. This deployment plan, while not spectacular and rapid, is moving forward cautiously, because in other countries a backpedaling is being observed in the distribution of hydrogen. In Denmark, the company Everfuel has thrown in the towel on its 19-station network project and has even closed the three existing stations, after a loss of 11 million euros in the first half of 2023 alone, for a country that only has 136 hydrogen vehicles. Everfuel’s CEO has indicated that he cannot replace the public hydrogen network. In California, many stations have been shut down due to lack of profitability or even lack of fuel.
Engine… !
Among captive fleets, buses obviously feature prominently and manufacturers are now offering new models. In terms of engines, fuel cells are just beginning to be industrialized on a larger scale in order to reduce production costs. As for combustion engines, they seem to be more developed for long-distance road freight transport and construction machinery, such as those from JCB. While fuel cell vehicles are in the spotlight, retrofit proposals are also welcome to support this deployment. Indeed, they allow bus network managers to gradually modify part of the fleet instead of resorting to costly fleet change investments, as hydrogen buses are still very expensive today.
Thus, two French companies specializing in heavy mobility based on dihydrogen (H2) are joining forces around retrofitting. At the beginning of September, the hydrogen bus manufacturer Safra and the refueling station developer Hyliko announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding for this purpose. “Hyliko and Safra aim to acquire an industrial production capacity of a few dozen units per year from 2024 and to increase it to a few hundred vehicles per year, in line with the growth in demand for these vehicles,” say the two new partners. It should be noted that the latter are also members of the Retrofit H2 coalition, launched by industry players last January.
Initiatives locales
On the ground, local initiatives continue. Brétéché officially inaugurated its hydrogen station on September 29, 2023. This private distributor is banking on this energy produced by Lhyfe, in Bouin. It is located on the existing site of the Bel-Air zone in Maché, on the 2×2 lanes that connects Challans to La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée).
Fourteen hydrogen buses were also acquired in 2021 by the Rouen Metropolis for a cost of 12 million euros. Eco-friendly and silent, the first model arrived last December for a test and running-in period. Then the first buses were put into circulation. Twelve meters long, these vehicles have a range of 450 km, more than an electric bus (350 km). For the time being, they will join the F7 line put into service a year ago, previously served only by electric buses.
Short-circuit green hydrogen for Northern Brittany: this is the meaning of the Armor Hydrogène project, initiated in Saint-Brieuc, which is officially joined by Saint-Malo Agglomération. A decisive rapprochement, in favor of a decarbonized energy likely to replace oil: the Saint-Malo agglomeration is committed, by 2030, to purchasing 6 buses and 10 household waste bins running on hydrogen.
Belfort has just launched tests of its first hydrogen buses for its public transport. It aims to equip half of its fleet by 2025. Seven new buses are being tested in operation.
After its Businova H2, the first French hydrogen bus, Safra continues to innovate and win markets. The Albi company has just won the hydrogen bus contract for the urban community of Dunkirk with an order for 10 new generation vehicles. This northern city has chosen the new Hycity model, 12 m and 3-door version.
“It is a great source of pride to have won this new contract, which confirms the company’s strategic choice to switch to generation 2 with Hycity… we are keen to see these 10 vehicles running on the Dunkirk network next year,” said a delighted Éric Baleviez, sales manager at Safra.
As for the Compagnie des transports strasbourgeois (CTS), it has chosen CaetanoBus to supply 60 hydrogen buses of the H2 City Gold model over the next five years. It will be equipped with a 60 kW Toyota fuel cell and 5 tanks storing 37.5 kilos of hydrogen at 350 bars. Its range is given as 400 kilometers. The Portuguese firm is pleased with the choice of the city that hosts the European Parliament. Strasbourg thus joins La Roche-sur-Yon and Les Sables-d’Olonne. ′
