Air Products, an industrial gases company, and New Flyer of America Inc. recently demonstrated the benefits of fuel cell electric buses powered with Air Products’ hydrogen.
As part of the demonstration, Sunline Transit Agency in Thousand Palms, Calif., provided a New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE H2 from its fleet of hydrogen buses to showcase the benefits of hydrogen in transit. The Oregon portion of the tour began in Portland where a local transit agency observed the bus being fueled using an Air Products’ mobile fueling station. The transit team received training on how to fuel the bus, then drove the bus on its regular route to get first-hand experience of how the vehicle performed under real-world conditions. Air Products and New Flyer later made a similar stop in Eugene, Ore.
“Air Products has made substantial investments to ensure that customers have ready access to infrastructure and supply of hydrogen as the world transitions to a greener, more sustainable future,” says Eric Guter, vice president of hydrogen for mobility solutions at Air Products. “These demonstrations are an opportunity to showcase the real-world environmental benefits available today through hydrogen.”
Last year, Air Products celebrated the grand opening of the largest hydrogen fueling station for transit buses in the U.S. Located at the Orange County Transportation Authority in Santa Ana, Calif., the station is equipped with Air Products’ hydrogen fueling technology, design and equipment. It has a bus fueling capacity for up to 50 buses, which corresponds to fueling up to 1,500 kg of hydrogen in eight hours. The station can fuel transit buses with an average of 28 kg of hydrogen per bus, in six to 10 minutes per bus, while also providing back-to-back bus fueling for up to 30 buses, and offers simultaneous fueling capability with multiple fueling lanes.
