Hydrogen solutions for public transport were presented at the CommunTech-2024 exhibition in Kyiv
The CommunTech exhibition took place in Kyiv on October 15-17. It was organized by International Exhibition Center LLC with the support of the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. The exhibition was attended by more than 180 companies representing manufacturers of municipal equipment, special equipment, public transport, landscaping, waste management, municipal heating, housing maintenance and digital solutions for the Smart City sector.
The public transport industry was represented at the exhibition by two stands.
The manufacturer Auto-Region LLC presented co-produced buses: the intercity Prestij Sx and the school bus Ar-Sb-29, the result of joint work between the Ukrainian company and the Turkish bus manufacturer Temsa.
Ar-Sb-29 and Prestij Sx buses at the stand of Auto-Region LLC Photo: Facebook page of Auto-Region LLC
The second stand was presented by the manufacturer Politechnoservice. According to the Khmarochos website, it presented a low-floor battery trolleybus PTS T12309, as well as the possibility of equipping buses and trolleybuses with hydrogen fuel installations.
Earlier this year, the head of Politechnoservice told the Center for Transportation Strategies in an interview that they plan to build electric buses using a hydrogen fuel cell from the Canadian company Ballard Power Systems. "Hydrogen buses may be the nearest prospect for Ukrainian cities. At present, this process is hampered by the lack of regular hydrogen suppliers and appropriate refueling stations. By the way, hydrogen is a by-product of nuclear power plants. Before the full-scale invasion, we worked with Zaporizhzhia NPP on a project to convert their buses into hydrogen buses. For them, hydrogen is practically a free fuel," said Yurii Bombandiorov.
PTS T12309 trolleybus at the Politechnoservice stand. Photo: "Autocenter
It is worth noting that hydrogen fuel cell buses are becoming widespread in European countries. For example, the Polish city of Poznan is expecting to receive 25 units of 12-meter Solaris Urbino 12 Hydrogen. According to the customer's expectations, the installed fuel cells provide a minimum of 350 km of range, and the refueling process will take up to 10 minutes, depending on the infrastructure.
For reference: As noted in an analytical article on the Center for Transportation Strategies portal, a hydrogen bus is essentially the same as an electric bus, but with better qualities. In classic electric buses, energy comes from on-board batteries, in trolleybuses - from the contact network, and in hydrogen buses, it is generated by the chemical reaction of hydrogen with oxygen.