Report comparing fuel bus system with diesel and battery electric systems against operational, economic and environmental parameters

The need to transition from diesel-fuelled to zero emission buses as part of strategies to address poor air quality has been recognised in many cities across Europe and beyond. While hydrogen fuel cell buses are starting to be discussed alongside the more established battery electric options , a lack of clarity on the role of the different options remains.This task will address this knowledge gap amongst operators by comparing fuel cell buses with incumbent (diesel) and alternative zero emission (battery electric) options. The aim is to identify and highlight the areas (both in terms of geography and duty cycles) in which fuel cell buses offer particular advantages. This activity aims to assist operators interested in zero emission bus technologies to understand which technology is most suited for which operational conditions, with a special focus on fuel cell buses. The comparison activity will be led by thinkstep, who will draw on the extensive data sets collected in WP3, along with qualitative evidence from cities / operators provided through the regular consortium meetings. In addition, available (non-confidential) information, data and results from activities focusing on battery electric buses will be utilised. thinkstep is involved in the monitoring activities for the European ZeEUS demonstration project led by UITP and can also draw on German national activities in this area (E-bus demonstration programme of the Federal Ministry of Transportation) and is able to use publicly available information. These data will be used along with publicly available information from other activities e.g. the UK Low Carbon Vehicle partnership. This comparison will not be a formal benchmarking exercise as such an activity would need to be carried out with all investigated technologies being operated and monitored under comparable conditions i.e. buses running in the same city on the same routes. It will be a qualitative comparison which will be complemented with quantitative data and information which is permitted to be used and appropriate for the discussion.The comparison of fuel cell bus performance will focus on metrics of particular interest to operators. These will include: total cost of ownership, vehicle reliability, range, refuelling times (per bus and for an entire fleet), space implications for infrastructure, passenger capacity, etc. Fuel cell buses will be compared against diesel and battery electric vehicles for up to three scenarios relevant to typical operational environments.The main output of this activity will be a report in which the performance of fuel cell buses relative to alternatives is discussed, and environments to which the FC vehicles are particularly well suited are identified.