São Paulo – Brazil’s first hydrogen-fuelled bus will be presented next Wednesday (1st) in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, in the Greater São Paulo area, according to information supplied by the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy. According to the ministry, this is the starting point in a quest for cleaner public transport in the country.
According to a press release issued by the ministry, the project involves the purchase, operation and maintenance of up to five hydrogen cell-fuelled buses, plus one station for production of gas, fuelling the vehicles and monitoring their performance.
The first unit, according to the ministry, is already being tested since April, and will serve the São Mateus-Jabaquara route, managed by the São Paulo Metropolitan Urban Transport Company (EMTU), one of the partners in the initiative.
According to the release, the bus uses a hybrid hydrogen- and battery-powered fuel cell system. Whenever the vehicle is motionless, the energy produced in the cell charges the batteries. The energy generated by braking is also used. The system enables increased power saving.
Brazil, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, is the largest global market for buses, as well as the leading bus producer country, as a result of large-scale use of this type of vehicle in public transport. A total of 50,000 units are manufactured each year. The city of São Paulo has the world’s largest urban bus fleet, and engine-powered vehicles answer to 90% of air pollution, hence the importance of a non-pollutant system.
Other partners in the project, besides the ministry and the EMTU, are the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the Studies and Projects Funding Body (Finep) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
