The X1 express line will celebrate its first anniversary with the entire fleet composed of hydrogen buses. After incorporating the first vehicle of these characteristics at the beginning of April, four more will follow next Monday and, in June, another three. Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB)'s commitment to promoting this completely clean fuel will not stop here and will reach 60 hydrogen buses by 2025, with a total investment of 36 million euros.
In just over a month and a half, the first hydrogen bus that is circulating between Plaza Glòries and Francesc Macià is obtaining a better than expected result, details the president of TMB, Laia Bonet. A consumption of 9 kilos per 100 kilometers was expected and one of 6.82 kilos per 100 kilometers is being registered. With the 40% increase planned for summer, it is estimated that the annual average will be 7.51 kilos per 100 kilometers.
Beyond the reduction in consumption, users who have boarded the new bus will not have noticed any difference compared to the others. However, they have moved in a vehicle that only emits water vapor when it moves around the city.
TMB has been the first operator in Spain to commit to incorporating this fuel into a regular service, as well as promoting the first public hydrogen station. This decision has been applauded by Mohamed Mezghani, secretary general of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), an organization that next year will hold its congress in Barcelona and will make it the world capital of public transport. "TMB will open the door to many others," Mezghani explained at a conference organized this Thursday by the Barcelona company and assured that hydrogen will be the fuel of the future. "We aspire to lead innovation," Bonet maintained. "We hope that other companies follow in our footsteps," she added.
Green hydrogen is not the only path TMB is taking to reduce its environmental impact. The operator is also incorporating electric and natural gas hybrid buses, increasing the total investment in the acquisition of clean energy vehicles to almost 410 million euros. By 2025, zero-emission buses will represent 40% of its total fleet, currently made up of about 1,100.
They charge in a few minutes
Manufactured by the Portuguese company Caetano, the hydrogen buses that TMB is incorporating are standard vehicles, 12 meters long, with a light aluminum body and three doors. The vehicles are supplied at the plant that Iberdrola has built in the Zona Franca, near the depot where they are based. At this hydrogen station, buses can fill their tank in a few minutes and have a high range in terms of time and kilometers. The facility began producing hydrogen at the end of last year.
The vehicles are supplied at the plant that Iberdrola has built in the Zona Franca, near the depot where they are basedThe plant is located on a 5,000 square meter plot. The company led by José Ignacio Sánchez Galán was the winner of the tender called by TMB for the supply of renewable hydrogen to its bus fleet.According to the result of the tender, TMB will pay Iberdrola for this supply an amount of approximately 14.3 million euros over the ten years of the contract.In addition to supplying fuel to TMB, Iberdrola will also provide it to other interested companies in the industrial park. This makes it the first facility in all of Spain to produce this renewable gas on a commercial basis.
Green hydrogen is produced at the Iberdrola plant. Compared to other types of hydrogen such as gray or blue, green is the most sustainable. This type of gas is produced by electrolysis from water and electricity from renewable sources. It generates 100% clean energy, with no CO2 emissions.