“With the signing of this MoU, we look forward to expanding the success of our zero-emission bus partnership with Ballard to include even more cities in the European transit bus market,” said Leopold Van Hool, Chairman of the Board of Van Hool NV. The Belgium-based company is Europe’s fourth largest bus manufacturer.
In 2014, there will be 27 Van Hool fuel cell buses in public transit operation in Europe, powered by Ballard hydrogen fuel cell power modules that are already delivering a high level of performance. For the newly funded buses, Ballard will provide its FCvelocity®-HD7 fuel cell power module to Van Hool for incorporation into hybrid bus platforms, which will offer improved durability and reliability along with significant cost reduction.
John Sheridan, Ballard’s President and CEO commented, “We are very pleased to partner with Van Hool in our application for EU funding to support the deployment of additional fuel cell-powered buses. This will help generate economies of scale that we expect to drive further overall cost reduction.”
Source: Ballard Power Systems
