Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLDP) today announced a purchase order from Wrightbus (www.wrightsgroup.com), a leading bus OEM and Ballard partner headquartered in Northern Ireland, for 15 FCveloCity®-HD 85-kilowatt fuel cell modules to power buses for deployment in Aberdeen, Scotland under the Joint Initiative For Hydrogen Vehicles Across Europe (“JIVE”) funding program.
The 15 two deck, zero-emission StreetDeck fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) are 10.9 meters (36 feet) long and can carry up to 64 passengers. These buses share the same chassis with a battery electric version, but avoid the need for long battery recharging time, instead being refueled with hydrogen in less than 10 minutes. All the Ballard modules in this order are expected to ship by end-2019 and the buses are expected to be deployed with First Aberdeen transit agency by end-2020.
The Wrightbus double-decker StreetDeck (CNW Group/Ballard Power Systems Inc.)
“We are very pleased to provide additional fuel cell power modules to Wrightbus for the Aberdeen deployment, in addition to those recently ordered for buses to be deployed in London,” said Rob Campbell, Ballard Chief Commercial Officer. “To this point Ballard has announced a total of 80 fuel cell modules ordered to power buses under the JIVE program, to operate in two German cities, in Pau, France, in London and now in Aberdeen, Scotland.”
David Barnett, Business Development Director for Wrightbus noted, “The [StreetDeck] vehicle offers pioneering cities, like Aberdeen, the opportunity to replace diesel buses with zero-emission buses on a one-to-one basis.”
David Phillips, Operations Director for First Aberdeen added, “We are delighted to be the first bus company to operate these unique new Wrightbus hydrogen-powered double-decker buses for the city of Aberdeen. It is a pleasure to continue our partnership with Aberdeen City Council on this innovative project and we applaud the council in its continued support of the hydrogen bus technology. We look forward to operating these new vehicles.”
In addition to the 80 buses that Ballard has already announced it will power under the JIVE program, earlier generation Ballard fuel cell modules have been powering a fleet of 10 FCEBs for Aberdeen City Council over the past several years, already recording 1-million miles of revenue service. The modules have demonstrated a high level of performance together with unsurpassed durability. With the deployment of more FCEBs, Aberdeen is reinforcing its reputation as a center of excellence for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
This project is funded by Aberdeen City Council, the European Union’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) under the JIVE program, and the Government of Scotland. The JIVE funding program is intended to pave the way to commercialization of FCEBs by coordinating procurement activities to unlock economies-of-scale and reduce costs as well as supporting new hydrogen refueling stations. The JIVE funding program targets a total deployment of 291 fuel cell buses in more than 20 European cities.
SOURCE Ballard Power Systems Inc.
www.ballard.com
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