Spain – Tarragona moderates its commitment to hydrogen and stops the purchase of 35 buses for 38 million

Spain – Tarragona moderates its commitment to hydrogen and stops the purchase of 35 buses for 38 million.

The Municipal Transport Company of Tarragona (EMT) moderates its commitment to hydrogen buses and opts to “balance the energy mix” to decarbonize its fleet, currently made up of 77 vehicles. Although in the previous mandate led by ERC the firm commitment of the Plaça de la Font executive was to renew vehicles mainly through hydrogen, now the socialist government slows down this horizon to opt for alternating this route with electric buses and biogas.

A clear example of this turnaround is the resignation that the company dependent on the Tarragona City Council has made with the purchase of 35 hydrogen buses with a global investment of 38 million euros, after the Catalan Court of Public Sector Contracts has endorsed an appeal filed against the conditions of the contest.

35 buses for 14 years

In September 2022, the EMT board of directors approved the operation to award a “comprehensive service” of 35 electric buses powered by hydrogen cells, as well as their maintenance, repair and supply for 14 years, renewing the fleet with this typology. of vehicles between 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Only one company participated in the tender, although its offer could not be studied because a company dedicated to the supply of hydrogen challenged the specifications. The reason? Because the requirements of the contract contemplated both the purchase and supply of hydrogen, a fact that the appellant firm requested not to be the case, but rather that two different tenders be carried out: one for the purchase of the buses and another for the supply of the element.

A few days ago, finally, the regional court ruled in favor of the appellant firm. For this reason, the council has decided not to continue with the process and shelve it.

Rubén Viñuales, As a result of this resolution, the mayor of Tarragona, assures that:

As many other European cities already do, we will bet on a hybrid mix between hydrogen, electric and biogas buses.

For this reason, he confirms that the Plaça de la Font government “has ruled out” continuing with the process to renew half of the fleet with hydrogen. This decision has also been influenced by the fact that this last January the competition to acquire four other hydrogen buses linked to the Next Generation call together with the remodeling of Battestini was void.

Regarding this, municipal technicians have already taken the first steps to restart the operation, which is financed with 600,000 euros from European funds. It should be noted that the setback does not, for the moment, put the aid in danger, since the council has until December 31, 2025 to complete the purchase.

Given this situation, the municipal machinery began the analysis in January to “reconfigure deadlines and prices” of the future contest. The objective is to adapt the figures to the “current market” and seek “maximum attendance.”

«The 38 million will not be lost»

Viñuales assures that, facing the 2025 budget, the renewal of the EMT fleet “will be one of the great priorities of the accounts”, since the objective is to have 10% decarbonized in the short term: 7 vehicles (the three that are already there and the four that are now still pending).

Likewise, EMT sources highlight that the 38 million planned for the purchase of hydrogen vehicles “will not be lost,” but over the next few years they will be used to carry out various operations to renew and decarbonize a fleet that is too old. which currently still has several buses that are more than 18 years old.

READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central

Spain – Tarragona moderates its commitment to hydrogen and stops the purchase of 35 buses for 38 million. source