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Hydrogen bus fleet improving, BC Transit president says

20-bus fleet passes one million kilometre mark
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Whistler's hydrogen bus fleet recently passed the one million-kilometre mark after almost a year-and-a-half in operation, and while it was a bumpy start with stalled buses it's now a rarity to see one stuck on the side of the highway.

So how is the fleet of buses performing so far? The answer, according to BC Transit President and CEO Manuel Achadinha, is "better."

"Right now the reliability is up significantly, and that's a big positive," he said. "There were two phases of commissioning. We needed a hot, dry summer, which we had last year and we had significant improvements with the software modifications so by September-October we had outstanding reliability, which was as good as we saw with our hydrogen buses.

"When winter hit we had a bit of a dip (in reliability) which we expected, and as winter progressed and we made more software modifications we've seen the reliability come up again."

The five-year, $89 million pilot project - a joint effort between BC Transit, the provincial and federal governments and the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association - started in late 2009 and by the 2010 Games there were 20 buses serving Whistler, making it the largest hydrogen bus fleet in the world. Those buses will remain here for the duration of the pilot project, which concludes in 2014.

Whistler was chosen for the pilot for various reasons. Certainly the Olympics played a part by ensuring maximum visibility for the buses, giving the partners an opportunity to show off their technologies and commitment to the environment. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is also aggressively pursuing a goal of becoming environmentally sustainable and has  signed on to the B.C. Climate Action Charter to become carbon neutral by 2012.

Most importantly, Whistler is an ideal testing ground for vehicles - high ridership, long shifts (up to 21 hours), rolling hills and every type of weather and road condition imaginable. If the buses work here, Achadinha noted in 2010, they can work almost anywhere.

The buses generate electricity using hydrogen fuel cell technology, producing almost no emissions other than some steam. All of the carbon emissions related to the project are related Air Liquide, a partner in the project, ships hydrogen by truck from Quebec. However, on May 16 the province gave the go-ahead to build a hydrogen plant in North Vancouver, which will recover waste hydrogen from another industrial process. Air Liquide is a partner in the plant, which will take up to 18 months to develop.

Even with the emissions produced by shipping the hydrogen, the Whistler buses have reduced emissions significantly. Based on a million kilometres travelled, the hydrogen buses would have saved 1,061 tonnes of emissions compared to diesel buses and 99,010 kilograms compared to hybrid buses in the BC Transit fleet.

As for the high cost comparable to diesel buses, hydrogen is becoming more viable as an alternative as more orders come in for buses. At recent conferences, Achadinha learned that there are plans for buses in London, England, across Germany, in South Korea, California and Japan. As well, the high price of oil and diesel is tilting the field in favour of alternatives like hydrogen and liquid natural gas.

Costs are also going down as mechanics and software improve, as well as the overall reliability.

"The maintenance costs are coming down," said Achadinha. "Think about it. Imagine you're a mechanic and you've been trained to pull wrenches and do diagnoses on internal combustion engines - then someone comes up to you with a laptop and says, 'do your diagnostics with this.' There's been a huge training curve for our mechanics. We could have done a better job of pre-training, but quite frankly this is a new technology even for us."

The final analysis won't be available until the pilot is complete in 2014 and BC Transit can decide if the buses are viable.

"Only time will tell," he said. "What it's going to depend on is demand, and supply and demand is growing. Right now the (Vancouver International) airport is looking at doing a hydrogen fleet, as is the City of Surrey. And then there's Mercedes new investment (in a fuel cell plant) in Burnaby. There's a huge opportunity as demand grows worldwide and the cost of hydrogen comes down."

 

Hydrogen bus facts

• Each bus costs roughly $2.2 million, or almost three times the price of a standard hybrid diesel bus ($750,000). The price for hydrogen buses would come down if there were more demand.

• Maintenance costs at this point are higher than for diesel (no figures available), but reliability is improving. Again, parts would be cheaper if there was more demand. Mechanics are improving as they learn about the technology.

• One of the limitations of the buses is the limited range between fuelling. The partners are installing additional gas tanks that would extend the range of the buses to 465 km in the summer and 320 km in the winter.

• The Government of Canada provided $45 million, the Province of B.C. contributed $26.7 million, the Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association gave $1 million, and Whistler will pay $16.8 million by the conclusion of the pilot. Whistler's share is based on the cost of operating diesel buses.

• Whistler's main added cost was related to the construction of a new bus depot near Nester's. Based on the funding formula with the province, the municipality's share of the cost was over $11 million to be paid back to BC Transit over 30 years. According to Achadinha, it's the largest hydrogen fuelling station in the world, and the eventual goal is to open it to fleets and commercial operators.