Skip to main content

Wrightbus showcases fuel cell electric bus in the UK

Wrightbus says its double deck bus uses fuel cell technology to deliver zero emissions while in operation. The StreetDeck fuel cell electric vehicle was displayed at the UK’s Euro Bus Expo 2018 in Birmingham. Fuel cell technology mixes hydrogen and compressed air (oxygen) in a chemical process to generate electric power to drive. The company says the vehicle comes with an extended storage option which increases its range from 200 to 265 miles. Also, the bus can be refuelled in seven minutes. Stre
November 7, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
6616 Wrightbus says its double deck bus uses fuel cell technology to deliver zero emissions while in operation. The StreetDeck fuel cell electric vehicle was displayed at the UK’s Euro Bus Expo 2018 in Birmingham.


Fuel cell technology mixes hydrogen and compressed air (oxygen) in a chemical process to generate electric power to drive.

The company says the vehicle comes with an extended storage option which increases its range from 200 to 265 miles. Also, the bus can be refuelled in seven minutes.

StreetDeck operates on a Ballard FCveloCity fuel cell, a 189 Siemens drivetrain and a 48 kW traction battery pack. It can carry 64 seated passengers and 21 standing.

Also, the bus comes with lightweight hydrogen storage tanks and an automatic battery management system which monitors and balances the stored power while in operation.

Earlier this year, Wrightbus was chosen as the supplier of double deck buses in the UK for the Joint Initiative for Hydrogen Vehicles in Europe (JIVE).

The JIVE initiative’s stated ambition is to promote the development of fuel cell technology in buses throughout Europe. The scheme is supported by grants from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking – a public-private partnership which supports research and development of the technology.

In the UK, up to 50 fuel cell powered buses have been operating in Birmingham, Aberdeen and London. In addition, the scope of the project includes the deployment of 139 vehicles across nine locations in Europe.

In %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 35082 0 link-external May false /sections/general/news/ballard-to-deploy-40-fuel-cell-modules-to-power-buses-in-germany/ false false%>, Ballard Power Systems deployed 40 FCveloCity-HD fuel cell modules to power buses under JIVE. The delivery was part of an agreement with bus manufacturer bus manufacturer Van Hool in Belgium.

Van Hool plans to deploy 30 buses in Germany with the Regionalverkehr Köln transit agency in Cologne, and the remaining ten buses with WSW Mobil in Wuppertal.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS America declare Detroit as success
    October 24, 2014
    ITS America, organisers of the 2014 ITS World Congress in Detroit, has declared the event a great success with more than 9,100 participants, 700 papers and 300 exhibiters plus the most extensive set of demonstrations ever staged. The introduction of Chief Technology Officer sessions was considered a big success attracting almost 800 attendees.
  • Open Roads updates Alaska’s 511 website and wins Virginia contract
    April 22, 2013
    Open Roads and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) have introduced a new version of the 511 Traveler Information Website
  • Flir expands AID portfolio with TrafiBot HD
    March 24, 2014
    In the camera world, HD imaging is increasingly becoming an established technology and this trend is now also continued in traffic monitoring and detection, as more and more traffic agencies are choosing HD cameras to control and secure their urban and highway traffic. In answer to this trend, Flir Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is unveiling here at Intertraffic an extension to its portfolio with a HD version of its Automatic Incident Detection (AID) cameras.
  • ITS America seeks module authors for new web-based ITS resource
    March 19, 2013
    The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is requesting proposals from individuals interested in serving as module authors for the development of the ITS content of the Road Network Operations (RNO), its web resource to be published on the World Road Association (PIARC) website. The current proposed structure includes seven themes and twenty-five modules. Prospective authors are asked to indicate which nodule(s) they are qualified for and are proposing to cover in response to this RFP