BOC, a gas and engineering company, have announced a new MoU with Foton Mobility to develop the hydrogen bus sector in Australia and New Zealand.
BOC and Foton Mobility will collaborate on operational and commercial hydrogen bus models across the entire supply chain including production, storage and refuelling, right through to leasing arrangements and maintenance.
The partnership will develop pathways for scaling up hydrogen bus networks, as bus operators move from pilot hydrogen bus projects in the coming years to widespread uptake across public transport networks over the next decade.
Collaboration is needed to develop scalable, affordable models that support the roll-out of hydrogen bus fleets across Australia and New Zealand, BOC South Pacific director Strategy and Clean Energy Vesna Olles said.
“BOC is delighted to be working with Foton Mobility to explore a variety of leasing arrangements for hydrogen buses and hydrogen refuelling stations, and demonstrating a strong business case to government and private operators interested in decarbonising their bus fleets,” Olles said.
“Transport accounts for almost one fifth of Australia’s total carbon emissions, which needs to be reduced significantly to meet net zero targets. Hydrogen buses are already widely used around the world, with proven technology and infrastructure making it a viable option for the future.”
The alignment between BOC and Foton Mobility is unique as we are connecting all the pieces together for hydrogen to work in the transport sector, according to Foton Mobility CEO Neil Wang.
“From developing infrastructure, hydrogen supply and vehicle deployment, we will be able to confidently supply low emission solutions to Australia’s transport sector,” Wang said.
Hydrogen buses can be fuelled in 12 minutes, and one hydrogen refuelling station can refuel 160 buses a day. Hydrogen buses have approximately 100km extra driving range than the typical electric bus.
BOC’s parent company, Linde, has installed 200 hydrogen refuelling stations globally and successfully completed over 1.5 million hydrogen refuelling’s of cars, buses and forklifts.