The Vancouver, Canada-based firm previously supplied the same model cells – its FCvelocity power module – to the shuttle buses that ferried spectators to events during the 2010 Olympic Games.
The group behind the Norway fuel cell bus effort is a coalition consisting of Ruter transit agency, Akershus County Administration, Oslo Municipality and Zero, an environmental organization. That’s not surprising given the expense of hydrogen buses. A 2007 U.S. Department of Transportation study put the fuel cell costs for an entire life cycle at three times that of diesel, CNG or diesel hybrid buses. However, Ballard said, “Increased volumes of fuel cell-powered buses are expected to support cost and price reductions through scale economies, enabling fuel cell solutions to compete effectively with incumbent transit technologies.”
"This contract is a further sign of the growth potential that clean fuel cell power has in the larger global transit bus marketplace, as transit agencies implement environmental improvements," said Michael Goldstein, Ballard's Chief Commercial Officer. "And, it is an important step in the execution of our strategy toward commercialisation in the short-term."
Under the contract, Belgian coach manufacturer Van Hool NV will use the company's FCvelocity(R) fuel cell module in the buses it will provide to the HyNor Oslo Buss group, which is comprised of the Ruter transit agency, Akershus County Administration, Oslo Municipality and Zero, an environmental organization.
Siemens will also be a participant in the project, providing electric drive systems that will draw power from the Ballard fuel cell modules.
Increased volumes of fuel cell-powered buses are expected to support cost and price reductions through scale economies, enabling fuel cell solutions to compete effectively with incumbent transit technologies.
"We are very pleased to work with Ballard on the Oslo fuel cell buses,” said Leopold Van Hool, Managing Director of Van Hool NV. “Ballard's fuel cell modules are compact, deliver the high performance required for thirteen meter buses and offer the best warranty in the industry.”
The zero-emission 13-meter (43-foot) fuel cell buses will be put into regular passenger service by the end of 2011 and will be fuelled by clean hydrogen produced locally at the Rosenholm bus depot. Hydrogen will be generated through electrolysis of water, using electrical energy from renewable sources. As a result, the Oslo bus fleet will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 100 percent on a well-to-wheels basis, compared to diesel or diesel hybrid alternatives, eliminating as much as 4,000 tons of CO2 over the first five-years of use.
Over that same period, the fleet is expected to operate approximately 20,000 hours, the equivalent of 450,000 kilometres (280,000 miles) per bus. The fleet will continue operating up to ten years, with the Ruter transit agency having an option to purchase as many as five additional buses during that time.
"Ruter has been very encouraged by the success of the BC Transit Whistler fleet and we look forward to taking advantage of the technology available in Ballard's fuel cell modules," said Konrad Ove Kjolstad, Contracts Manager for Ruter transit agency.
Project funding will be provided by Norwegian state and municipal governments as well as the European Union's Joint Technology Initiative (JTI). The JTI will accelerate development and deployment of clean technologies, including hydrogen and fuel cell-based energy systems and component technologies, helping the European Union achieve aggressive GHG reduction targets.
For additional information:
