By Joseph Pudlewski Autoblog
Yes, hydrogen-powered bus trials are still happening
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have largely fallen on their faces with mass-market models gaining little traction among consumers. Even so, some automakers, including Toyota, Hyundai, and BMW, are still pushing forward with hydrogen fuel cell research and development. Hydrogen bus trials are still ongoing in regions around the world, and while some have found success, others have faced significant obstacles.
Two more transit agencies have ended their hydrogen bus trials
Essen and Mülheim are the latest transit agencies to end their hydrogen bus trials after fuel station subsidies fell through. Combined, the two cities own 19 hydrogen buses, all of which will now need to travel 89 km (55 miles) to refuel. This massive bump in the road comes as no surprise to anyone who has glimpsed at hydrogen fuel cell vehicle trials over the past few years.
Hydrogen bus trials have ground to a halt or been subject to cancellation throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. Brussels, Belgium, called it quits back in 2023 due to high fuel costs and supply chain issues. Wiesbaden, Germany's hydrogen bus program ended in 2022 after the station ran out of funds. In Aberdeen, United Kingdom, hydrogen buses haven't been in use since summer 2024 due to a lack of fuel deliveries.
Just because hydrogen bus trials have failed doesn't mean cities are giving up on zero-emission public transportation, though. In the United Kingdom, London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Brighton are all making the transition to battery-electric buses due to the high operation costs of hydrogen bus fleets. Wuppertal, Germany, and Pau, France, are making the switch to electric buses as well.
Battery-electric buses are cheaper to operate
While hydrogen buses help reduce air pollution and are better for the environment, they're expensive to operate. Per a 2023 report from Transport for London (TfL), the cost to operate a hydrogen bus is nearly double that of diesel at £1.50 versus £0.80 per mile. Notably, battery-electric buses have the lowest operation cost of £0.65 per mile.
Of course, the whole point of hydrogen-powered vehicles isn't to reduce operational costs. By using hydrogen as a fuel source, commercial vehicles that see heavy use on a daily basis, like buses, don't add more pollutants to the environment. Increased costs were bound to come with the transition from fossil fuels to an alternate fuel source, regardless of what it is. You have to build out an entirely new fueling infrastructure, after all. Unfortunately for hydrogen, electricity has proven to be the better of the two.
According to Transport and Environment, one of Europe's leading advocates for clean energy and transportation, half of the new city buses will be zero-emission in 2024. While hydrogen fuel cell buses saw an uptick in popularity by three percent, battery-electric models proved the most popular, holding a 46% market share. All zero-emission urban buses in Finland, Iceland, and the Netherlands were powered by electricity in 2024. Germany added the most new hydrogen-powered buses to its fleet in 2024, coming in at 9%. In total, just six countries added hydrogen buses to their fleets.
With plenty of hydrogen bus trials on the books, most of which resulted in failure, it's clear the world prefers electrification to hydrogen. After ending the double-decker hydrogen bus program, for example, the TfL made the switch to battery-electric buses. Cost wasn't the only issue in the equation, though. Gaps and delays in the supply chain and refueling issues played key roles in the program's cancellation as well.
Some hydrogen bus trials show potential
Not all hydrogen bus trials have been a bust, though. Some areas have seen success, while others are simply continuing their trials despite high operational costs. Those that have seen success with hydrogen-powered bus fleets have one thing in common: a steady source of hydrogen.
Hydrogen as a fuel can be produced in a couple of ways, but the most common is through electrolysis. Electrolysis essentially acts as a reverse fuel cell. While a hydrogen fuel cell combines oxygen and hydrogen to emit water, electrolysis splits the two elements apart instead.
Auxerre, France, is home to a station that produces fuel through electrolysis. Since they have a stable fuel source, they plan to double their hydrogen-powered fleet from five to ten buses. A stable hydrogen fuel source doesn't necessarily mean hydrogen buses are cost-effective, though. Bolzano, Italy, has an on-site electrolysis facility, but it still costs twice as much to operate a hydrogen bus compared to a battery-electric model.
Cologne has undoubtedly seen the most success with its hydrogen bus trials. The city is home to the largest hydrogen fleet in Europe, with over 100 buses in its arsenal. Hydrogen is produced as an industrial byproduct of the region's chemical industry, making it the ideal area to operate a hydrogen bus fleet.
There are more hydrogen bus trials coming
Despite mixed hydrogen bus trial results, more are yet to come. Solaris Bus & Coach recently secured a contract to supply the region of Île-de-France with 22 new hydrogen buses as part of the region's pilot program. Île-de-France is home to more than 12 million people as of 2023, making it the most populous region in France.
While France has at least some precedent for its hydrogen bus trials, other countries are just getting their feet wet. India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently announced it will begin hydrogen-powered bus trials with up to 37 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and nine refuelling stations in major urban hubs, including Delhi and Mumbai. Saudi Arabia and Hyundai are collaborating on a trial run of the automaker's new hydrogen fuel cell bus in the country's Eastern Province.
Over on our side of the pond, hydrogen bus trials are well underway, but have a very narrow area in which they can operate. Currently, the vast majority of, if not all, hydrogen refuelling stations in North America are located in California. Washington could be getting a few hydrogen fueling stations of its own, though. In May 2024, Community Transit announced it would begin hydrogen bus trials in Snohomish County, with plans to expand the zero-emission fleet to 19 hydrogen and 40 electric buses by 2027.
Final thoughts
Setting up the infrastructure to support any transition from fossil fuels was always going to be costly, but many transit authorities seem to be oblivious to the true cost. Hydrogen fuel cell buses are proving expensive to operate, especially if hydrogen fuel isn't readily available. As a result, many cities are pivoting to battery-electric buses to save on fuel costs and cut down on pollutants simultaneously. Considering the infrastructure to support EVs is already in place in many urban areas, and is rapidly expanding in others, electric buses seem like the obvious solution.
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This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM.
