Alsa launches with CaetanoBus the first hydrogen bus that will operate in Spain permanently.
The mobility company Alsa puts into operation the first urban bus powered by renewable hydrogen that will provide stable and permanent service in Spain on an urban line.
Specifically, the bus will operate Line 4 in the city of Torrejón de Ardoz, which is part of the public transport network of the Community of Madrid managed by the Regional Transport Consortium (CRTM).
This has been possible thanks to the hydrogen generator set up at the Alsa facilities, the first available in the Community of Madrid for public transport, which guarantees the supply of hydrogen, with which the main requirement for the development of this technology is solved. , called to play a key role in the sustainable mobility of the future.
The bus and the hydrogenerator were presented at the company’s facilities in Torrejón de Ardoz, in an act presided over by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the CAM and president of CRTM, David Pérez García, and the mayor of the city, Ignacio Vázquez Casavilla.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT: ZERO EMISSIONS IN 2035
This milestone represents another step forward and forms part of the company’s new environmental challenge, which is specified in the commitment that all urban buses operated by Alsa in Spain will be Zero Emissions by the year 2035. This same zero-emissions fleet commitment is formula for the year 2040 specifically referring to long-distance coaches.
This update of the environmental challenge represents a very ambitious expansion of the current commitment, consisting of all urban bus acquisitions being zero emissions by 2030.
Francisco Iglesias, CEO of Alsa:
This project is a new step in our goal of leading the transition to clean fleets in our country and is part of our commitment to the decarbonisation of public transport, which we have recently expanded so that all urban fleets that we operate in Spain are Zero Emissions by 2035.
“The start-up of this first hydrogen bus in our country is a great example that when public entities, in this case the CRTM, and private operators work together in search of of shared goals, results are guaranteed .”
In this area, it should be noted that since 2020 Alsa has not incorporated any vehicle that is not Eco or Zero Emissions into its urban operations. Currently, as part of its commitment to sustainable mobility, the company has 455 alternative propulsion vehicles in their different variants (electric, hybrid propulsion, CNG/LNG and ECO dual fuels, both CNG and LPG), which represents the 15% of the total fleet operating in Spain.
FIRST HYDROGEN
For the start-up of this first operation with a hydrogen bus, it has been necessary to install a hydrogen generator, the first start-up in the Community of Madrid for public transport. The installation, which has a loading capacity of 50 kg/day, has been carried out by Carburos Metálicos, a leading company in the industrial and medicinal gases sector in Spain, which will also be in charge of supplying renewable hydrogen.
For Miquel Lope, general director of Carburos Metálicos:
The commitment of the Community of Madrid and Alsa to sustainable mobility based on hydrogen shows that the technology is mature and ready to contribute to the decarbonisation of public transport in the cities of our country Air Products is going to continue to promote awareness of these solutions as experts throughout the H2 value chain, from production to supply to vehicles.
HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGY
The bus that performs the service is the H2 City Gold model manufactured by the Portuguese company CaetanoBus and is 100% zero emissions. It uses hydrogen as a source of energy and its fuel cell, with Toyota technology, generates electricity.
Therefore, it only emits water vapor and is free of noise emissions. During the past year, this model has been tested by Alsa in different operations in Madrid, Oviedo, Bilbao and Zaragoza, in order to go through the learning curve of this new technology as soon as possible.
Nuno Carvalho, commercial general director of CaetanoBus,
It is a great pride to have a Caetano bus in the fleet of an operator with such a clear concern in the fight against climate change.
“Alsa’s environmental commitments are ambitious and we are sure that our buses will contribute to their environmental performance. It is proof that only alignment between operators, public policies and manufacturers can give good results in this sector “.
The start-up of this zero-emission urban line comes after the presentation last week of the Shyne (Spanish Hydrogen Network) project, the largest consortium for the development of renewable hydrogen in Spain, of which Alsa is a promoter partner. Thanks for staying up to date with Hydrogen Central.
With this, Alsa continues with its innovation strategy at the service of more sustainable mobility, and the Community of Madrid, which is a world pioneer in public transport management, is also a pioneer in the introduction of cleaner and more innovative mobility alternatives
Highlights:
- As part of the company’s new environmental challenge, for which it commits that all urban buses that will operate in Spain will be Zero Emissions by 2035.
- The bus will operate a stable and permanent urban line in Torrejón de Ardoz, thanks to the hydroelectric plant that it has installed to guarantee the supply.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
Alsa launches today the first hydrogen bus that will operate in Spain permanently, Madrid, January 26, 2022.
