One of the most beneficial and practical early market introductions of hydrogen fuel is in public transit and Fuel Cell Buses (FCBs). AC Transit’s fleet of FCBs will soon carry passengers powered by hydrogen from two new and improved refueling stations built by Linde North America. These buses have been incorporated into AC Transit’s regular fleet and provide transit for thousands of riders while producing zero tailpipe emissions. The buses offer environmental benefits without sacrificing any traditional performance characteristics, as Jamie Levin, Director of Alternative Fuels Policy at AC Transit said, “We expect this project to prove that hydrogen fuel cell buses can perform as well or better than diesel fueled buses, while reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in excess of 40 percent.”
An important aspect of this project is an innovative technology introduced by Linde at the two refueling stations. According to Linde, the refueling stations will feature a technology called Ionic Compression, which uses less electricity to compress the hydrogen and deliver it to vehicles than other hydrogen fueling stations, and requires less maintenance, by eliminating certain mechanical processes in conventional systems. The technology will be introduced in North America for the first time at the Oakland station and will showcase important performance characteristics such as the ability to refill one of AC Transit’s FCBs in just six minutes. The stations will also be available to refill hydrogen fuel cell vehicles being produced by automakers such as Honda, GM, Daimler, Hyundai, and Toyota.
This project highlights some critical components of a transitioning transportation sector. First, many alternative technologies, such as fuel cell electric and battery electric vehicles, initially come with costly premiums that an average person simply cannot afford. Along the same lines, many of the most polluting mobile sources (i.e. dirty diesel buses and trucks) that impact air quality and public health are found in economically disadvantaged communities. Fuel cell buses can offer affordable access to clean transportation in all communities, spreading the public health benefit of initially expensive alternative technologies to traditionally disadvantaged communities (through reduced local emissions).
Secondly, a common misconception of alternative vehicle technology is that a sacrifice must be made in an aspect of performance: range, refueling time, or another characteristic. With advancements in refueling technology such as Linde’s, and continuous advancements in vehicle technology, consumers no longer have to sacrifice performance for environmental benefit. As Steven Eckhardt, Linde’s west coast head of Alternative Energy Business Development, said, “Our fueling system can fill an automobile in three minutes for 300-400 miles of operation.”—Surpassing performance characteristics of most internal combustion engine vehicles.
