The Go-Ahead Group takes its commitment to sustainable mobility and emissions reduction a step further with the launch of its first fleet of 20 hydrogen buses, which will operate in the Gatwick Airport, Crawley and Horley area.
Once rollout is complete, the number of buses in operation will rise to 54, making it one of the largest hydrogen bus fleets in Britain.
The liquid hydrogen filling station, which is owned by the world’s leading industrial gas company, Air Products, is situated in Crawley and once it reaches full capacity, it will be the largest station of its kind in Europe, with ability to provide 250 kg of hydrogen per hour, the equivalent of recharging more than 100 buses per day.
One of the new Go-Ahead buses that make up the hydrogen-powered fleet
These buses, manufactured by Wrightbus which are the first hydrogen-powered vehicles in Go-Ahead’s fleet (made of more than 6,000 buses), can cover long distances and carry heavy loads, making them the ideal alternative for heavily used local routes around Gatwick, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Hydrogen is one of the greenest ways to run a bus service because all that comes out of the tailpipe is water. With zero CO2 emissions at the tailpipe, these buses help combat climate change and improve air quality. In addition, hydrogen buses have an advantage over electric buses and that is that they can be refueled relatively quickly in less than 10 minutes.
The presentation of this new fleet took place this Thursday, June 29, at the Crawley bus station, and was attended by important stakeholders and members of the public administration, including Richard Holden, Minister of Roads and Local Transport.
In the words of Christian Schreyer, CEO of Go-Ahead: “These fantastic buses and the innovative refuelling depot demonstrate Go-Ahead’s commitment to investing in a net zero future for transport. We’re already the leading operator of electric buses in Britain and we believe hydrogen is a further piece in the jigsaw of decarbonising public transport – to the benefit of the environment and local communities.”