Hydrogen-powered buses are generally hybrid electric buses which, depending on the size of the battery, use a hydrogen-powered fuel cell, either to extend the battery range or as the main means of generating electricity.[1]. It uses the (smaller) battery only to store the electricity produced by the cell, or even to provide additional energy during acceleration peaks. The first experiments with hydrogen-powered buses occurred more than 30 years: between 1984 and 1988, 10 Mercedes-Benz buses were used for medical transport in Berlin.
Hydrogen fuel cell buses, mainly city buses, have been tested in many European cities since 2005, with the help of European funding. In France, since 2011, 42 hydrogen projects have received funding under the Future Investment Programmes (FIA) of the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME). Sixteen of these involved hydrogen mobility projects, including the Safra H2 project, which is receiving €4.8 million for the development and marketing of coaches and buses by the French manufacturer.
They went on sale in 2014-2015. By 2020, almost 400 fuel cell buses had been used in 30 cities in 10 European countries. Around 330 buses were still in operation in June 2021 as part of the European JIVE (Joint Initiative for hydrogen Vehicles across Europe) and 3Emotion (Environmentally friendly Efficient Electric Motion) programmes.
