Towngas, Citybus parent Bravo Transport sign agreement for Hong Kong Island hydrogen refuelling station.
The Hong Kong and China Gas Company (Towngas) and Bravo Transport Services, the parent of major Hong Kong bus operator Citybus, have signed an agreement to develop a hydrogen refuelling station on Hong Kong Island and explore the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source.
The firms will collaborate on a Citybus depot on Hong Kong Island, which upon completion in 12 months’ time, will be able to extract about 500kg of hydrogen a day, enough for the operation of 10 to 12 hydrogen buses a day, according to a statement on Sunday.
While Towngas will be responsible for the design and extension of the existing pipe network, the supply of fuel cell-graded hydrogen, the installation of a hydrogen extraction facility and the provision of maintenance services, Citybus will be responsible for procuring and maintaining hydrogen buses, and deploying and operating these on selected routes to obtain relevant operational data and information.
Peter Wong Wai-yee, Towngas’s managing director, said in the statement:
The two companies are paving the way for everyone to use hydrogen energy with ease in the future.
“I look forward to the Towngas-powered hydrogen buses serving the public as soon as possible in order to build a sustainable urban transport system.”
Sunday’s statement came after news last week that Hong Kong’s first hydrogen refuelling station in Citybus’s West Kowloon depot – backed and supported by Citybus shareholders Templewater and Hans Energy – would become operational by October.
The agreement between Towngas and Bravo Transport is being viewed as a boost to Hong Kong’s climate goals. The cooperation supports the policy direction of Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 and involvement in promoting the development of green transport, thus achieving Hong Kong’s target of zero vehicle emissions and carbon neutrality before 2050, said Diane Wong Shuk-han, the under secretary for environment and ecology, according to the statement.
The scale of the second station will be significantly larger than that of the first facility. Wan Yufeng, Citybus’s director and investor Templewater’s partner and head of impact investing, said Towngas is a “strong partner” for the introduction of the second hydrogen refuelling station based on Hong Kong Island, thanks to its experience and gas supply chain.
Wan was “delighted” to see more hydrogen projects being approved by the government, including Hong Kong’s second hydrogen refuelling station, a hydrogen-fuelled light rail vehicle and hydrogen tube trailers, according to a statement on Thursday.
Highlights:
- The two companies are ‘paving the way for everyone to use hydrogen energy with ease in the future’, Towngas managing director Peter Wong says
- Hong Kong’s first hydrogen refuelling station, in Citybus’s West Kowloon depot, is expected to be operational by October
Towngas, Citybus parent Bravo Transport sign agreement for Hong Kong Island hydrogen refuelling station, July 9, 2023