Tuesday 14 April 2020

Germany invests €2.3m in fuel cell fleet

German Ministry of Transport has released €2.3 million (£2m) of new funding for the purchase of ten hydrogen fuel cell buses and related refuelling infrastructure.

The state allocated the funds to transport company Stadtwerke Wuppertal (WSW Mobil GmbH) for the purchase of 10 fuel cell buses and supplied an additional €1.08 million (£940k) for the purchase of a storage unit to supply hydrogen to the fuel cell buses.

This financial support is complemented by EU funding.

Hendrik Wüst, the German Minister of Transport, stated: “Low emission coaches and especially public transport buses that practically travel all day can make an important contribution to clean mobility.

“In addition to funding gas, battery-electric and fuel cell buses, we have created the opportunity in North Rhine-Westphalia to increase the federal funding for retrofitting diesel buses with modern filter technology to 95%.”

Ulrich Jaeger, Managing Director of WSW Mobil GmbH, said: “For Wuppertal and WSW Mobil, fuel cell technology is ideal for realising zero-emission local public transport.

“Such projects are currently not economically viable without public funding from the state. But politics and transport companies in North Rhine-Westphalia can be pioneers for green public transport in this way."