ABC #397

COVERSTORY
FOTON FUEL CELL
FOTON IN
AUSTRALIA
In August 1996, Foton set out to
become a leading player in the
world’s largest and most demanding
logistics market, China, it states.
To do this it had to be different from
the competition and provide a worldclass
alternative product solution for
both logistics operators and drivers,
it says.
According to the company, it
believes: “…that technology is the soul
and DNA of the automobile”, and
that its guiding principle became:
‘Technology leading into the future’.
As it explains of its truck division, it
set about establishing strategic joint
ventures with the ‘best of the best’
in the commercial vehicle industry.
Foton’s three key strategic alliances
have allowed access to global
technological insights from:
• Cummins, a global icon in the
heavy-duty truck market and the
world’s largest independent engine
manufacturer;
• Germany’s Daimler Group, the
world’s largest manufacturer of
premium commercial vehicles;
• ZF, the world’s largest supplier
of transmission and chassis
technology.
In terms of bus, Foton shares a
unique relationship with Toyota and
its fuel-cell technology.
Foton operates R&D centres in
China, Germany and Japan and has
garnered the combined efforts of
6,500 engineers from more than 40
countries and witnessed 5,000 R&D
patents, it explains.
mortals based on atomic number and
weight, electron configurations and
various other chemical characteristics.
Elements ‘of a feather stick together’,
as it were. And of the lot, snaring first
place with atomic number ‘numero
uno’ is the lightest and most common
element in the universe of them all –
hydrogen!
Since its discovery in 1671 and
the following 90 years of tests and
experiments to learn it ultimately
produces water when it burns, it’s
been used purposefully for many key
industrial revolution technological
advancements, such as for its light
lift properties in iconic air-travel
balloons first invented in 1783 – ending
effectively with the infamous 1937
Hindenburg disaster – and later closer
to the ground in 1806’s de Rivaz
internal combustion engine.
Notably, towards the end of that
era, the first hydrogen fuel-cell was
invented in 1838, where - explained
in rudimentary terms - hydrogen and
oxygen react to produce electricity,
with the by-product being water.
And it is in that fundamental
concept that modern-day buses – like
we would have seen in use during
the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games – cars
and trucks are evolving as a seemingly
environmentally cleaner alternative to
traditional petrol and diesel vehicles.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
“Our hydrogen and electric bus will
available in both Australia and New
Zealand. Both the Foton Australia and
New Zealand teams will work together
to provide the after-sales support
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ABC September 2020 busnews.com.au