CHIC

Ballard Power Systems announced on December 20th 2011 that the 20-bus fleet operated by BC Transit in the Resort Municipality of Whistler, British Columbia and powered by Ballard FCvelocityTM-HD6 fuel cell modules recently surpassed 1-million miles (1.6-million kilometers) of revenue service. The BC Transit fleet has been the largest hydrogen fuel cell-powered bus fleet in operation anywhere since it went into service approximately 2-years ago and is the first hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet to achieve the 1-million mile revenue service mark. The buses went into service in January, 2010 prior to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and have been an effective showcase for clean transportation alternatives. By end-November 2011 a number of important results had been achieved: • The 20-bus fleet had operated a total of 80,000 hours; • More than 9,600 safe refuellings had been completed, by which 220,000 kilograms of hydrogen was dispensed to the fleet’s buses; and • 2,200 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were avoided, in comparison to diesel buses, which is equivalent to removing approximately 400 passenger vehicles from the roads. Source: Ballard PR, FuelCellToday

Within CHIC, Oslo will have completed the building of a new hydrogen station to facilitate the refuelling of Oslo’s 5 Fuel Cell Hydrogen Buses. The station is scheduled to open in April 2012. The  first steps include setting the concrete floor, which was set Monday 28. November 2011.  The hydrogen station will include a brand new electrical power transformation station which will transform high voltage power to produce hydrogen.

Hydrogenics Corporation announced on the 25th of November the award to deliver one HySTAT(TM)60 electrolyser, capable to produce 130kg a day of pure hydrogen. It will be part of a complete electrolysis-based fueling station awarded to Carbagas, a fully owned subsidiary of the Air Liquide group. The electrolyser is expected to be delivered to the city of Brugg in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland at the beginning of 2012. The hydrogen fueling station, delivering green hydrogen at 350bar, will be based at the PostAuto bus garage in Brugg and will be used to operate five Citaro FuelCELL buses. PostAuto (www.postauto.ch) is the biggest public bus operator in Switzerland with over 2,000 vehicles in operation. This project is part of the CHIC initiative, a European demonstration project of fuel cell buses (chic-project.eu). The Aargau bus project will reduce noise and improve air quality in the canton by reducing harmful emissions from public transport. This fueling station will deliver 100% green hydrogen, thanks to the use of green electricity generated by the local energy utility IBB (hydro-electric, solar, wind and biomass) further demonstrating that a complete carbon free chain using electrolysis has its place in the future energy mix for transport applications. Source: Hydrogenics, [...]

On September 8th 2011 two hydrogen-driven fuel cell hybrid buses successfully finished a four-month test period. The 18 meter articulated buses named “Phileas” will now take up regular public transport service on inner-city and regional lines in the Rhein-Erft county for the first time.

Hamburg transit agency Hamburger Hochbahn AG has acquired four Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid buses under the German NaBuz demo scheme.
As a Phase 0 partner of the CHIC project, Hamburg will see seven buses in operation next year.

The construction of the hydrogen refueling station commenced in spring 2010 and was completed by November 2010. The station will be refuelling 8 of the 26 European funded hydrogen buses under the CHIC project.

The station comprises high pressure storage and 350 bar dispensing through 2 dispensers on site. 2 dispensers are used in servicing the buses. The Hydrogen delivered to the station is Liquid hydrogen. The station is serviced by Air Products’ fleet of dual phase hydrogen tankers, which transport the hydrogen as liquid and vaporize into high pressure storage on site.

The dual phase hydrogen tanker, developed and owned by Air Products, converts the hydrogen between different states and pressures and can supply medium or high pressure gas in addition to liquid hydrogen. This means that large quantities of hydrogen can be transported, thereby reducing distribution costs and minimising the equipment needed at the point of use.

Watch a video which explains all about the hydrogen bus activities in Cologne! Since May 2011 RVK (Regional Verkehr Köln) as a local public transport service provider is operating two hydrogen fuel cell busses under normal transport conditions. These Buses are operated jointly together with European Partners under the CHIC Project: www.chic-project.eu.   See Video: Youtube

On May 06 Harry K. Voigtsberger, Minister of Economy and Traffic in NRW,and Werner Stump, head of the Rhein-Erft district authority, jointly with RVK manager Eugen Puderbachand Günter Rosenke from the RVK supervisory board presented the first fuel cell-driven hybrid-electric buses in Hürth near Cologne.

The new hydrogen station in Oslo under the CHIC project will be built in the Oppegård municipality, outside Oslo. Air Liquide Norway will build and operate the hydrogen station, with assistance from Air Liquide based in Sweden and France.  The consultancy, Sweco is in charge of the application and building process. DNV is company which will handle the safety topics during the application and building process. Atle Stubberud, from Soon Design has made a futuristic design of the wall around the hydrogen station. This wall in steel and glass is going to have several functions. It will be a safety wall around the eletrolysors, the compressors, and buffer tanks and it’s stylish look will attract the attention of visitors. This futuristic station has been designed to become a interesting attraction for local tourists. For more information: see CHIC Website

Whistler’s hydrogen bus fleet recently passed the one million-kilometer 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. According to BC Transit President and CEO Manuel Achadinha, fleet operations have improved. Significant improvements have been made with software modifications, thus by Fall Whistler had increased reliability in hydrogen bus operations. 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 [...]