CHIC

FCH

Between 2010 and 2016, 56 fuel cell hydrogen buses (FC buses) were used as part of the CHIC (Clean Hydrogen in European Cities) project, in regular public local transport in the cities of London, Aargau, Bolzano, Milan, Oslo, Hamburg, Cologne and Whistler. At the same time, the hydrogen refuelling infrastructures for the buses were set up and successfully operated. The electric fuel cell buses were supplied and maintained by 6 different manufacturers.

The project has shown that fuel cell buses can replace diesel buses as they offer the same flexibility in use and the same productivity - all with zero emissions. Therefore, it can be said that the technology has reached the technical maturity for broad use. Now it is a matter of promoting the commercialization of buses. This means using a common European purchasing policy to significantly increase the number of FC buses and thereby bring the life cycle costs of buses closer to those of diesel buses.

South Tyrol was represented in this project by STA Südtiroler Transportstruktur AG, which bought the fuel cell buses: The 5 buses were used by the SASA in the public local transport, 12 hours a day and 6 days a week. From November 2013 to the end of 2016, around 630,000 km were driven, saving 270,000 litres of diesel. This saved the population of Bolzano the emission of 252.63kg NOx, 577,893.87kg CO₂ and 3.79kg of particulate matter.

IIT was the infrastructure partner in the project and supplied locally produced “green” hydrogen for these zero-emission buses in Bolzano.

The buses continue to be operated very successfully in Bolzano in daily regular services even after the official end of the CHIC project.

You can find further information about this project here.

This project is financed by the EU through the FCH JU (Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaken) with the FCH-JU being a private-public partnership between the European Commission and partners from economy and research, which aims at bringing the hydrogen technology at market maturity.