Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Technology State of the ... - NEXTHYLIGHTS

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Technology State of the Art Review
Australia
Australia‟s hydrogen and fuel cells programs are promoted by the Department of
Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET), the Australian Central and Regional
Governments and by private partners. However the country does not possess a
dedicated platform for the coordination of national RD&D activities. In 2008 RET
published the Hydrogen Technology Roadmap for Australia, a vision on the future role of
hydrogen and fuel cells in helping Australia‟s reduction of Green House Gases
emissions. The document was developed for the Council of Australian Governments
(COAG) and had the scope to identify the potential role of the Australian Governments,
industries and research centres in developing a hydrogen economy. The roadmap is
intended to be a “vision” and does not identify precise milestones or targets.
In 2004 the Australian Government, the National Heritage Trust‟s Air Pollution
programme, the Australian Greenhouse Trust, the Government of West Australia and
various private partners supported the demonstration of three FCB in Perth (project
known as EcoBus, initial budget of AUD$5 million from the public authorities) as the flag
of the Sustainable Transport Energy for Perth (STEP) project. The demonstration was
successfully extended to three years of duration in collaboration with CUTE, becoming a
member of HyFLEET:CUTE. The EcoBus– HyFLEET:CUTE project has been the first
and, so far, the sole public demonstration of FCB for transit services in Australia [RET,
2008] [GWA, 2010].
Brazil
Brazil‟s government launched the Brazilian Fuel Cell Program in 2004, administrated by
the Ministry of Science and Technology (Ministerio de Ciencia e Tecnologia, MCT). The
Brazilian Action Plan for the Hydrogen Economy (Plano de Ação de Ciência, Tecnologia
e Inovação para a Economia do Hidrogênio) is currently run by the MCT under the
national programme for Electric Energy, Hydrogen and Renewable Energy [MCT, 2010].
Brazil is currently experiencing its first FCB demonstration project under the United
Nation Development Programme‟s Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF) Fuel Cell
Bus Programme, a US$21 million budget project with the scope to operate 8 24 FCBs in
the metropolitan area of São Paulo. The buses are co-founded by the UNDP-GEF, the
Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy (GoB), the Empresa Metropolitana de
Transportes Urbanos de São Paulo (EMTU/SP) and by private partners [UNDP, 2010].
24 According to a private communication, only 4 buses out 8 initially programmed will be
constructed by 2012.
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