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    New Flyer Celebrates Largest H2 Bus Order Ever, 108 Fuel-Cell Vehicles for San Mateo Transit

    Oct. 23, 2024
    The buses will not only replace SamTrans' diesel buses but also help the provider achieve 100 percent zero-emission by 2040 and meet the U.S. GHG targets of 50-52 percent by 2030.
    Image credit NFI
    6718f7cc871ab2202e553ed9 Xcelsiorchargefc

    New Flyer of America has gained an order for 108 hydrogen fuel-cell Xcelsior CHARGE FC 40-foot buses from San Mateo County Transit in California.

    The bus supplier, which is a subsidiary of NFI Group, called the deal with San Mateo the largest hydrogen (H2 is its chemical formula) fuel-cell bus order in New Flyer’s history. Fuel cells use an electrochemical process to convert fuel into electricity, and hydrogen does not emit carbon dioxide.

    San Mateo County Transit, also called SamTrans, provides transportation services in San Francisco, Palo Alto and its home county. The transit delivers about nine million bus rides across an extensive network of 74 bus routes.

    “The technology advancements included in this next-generation vehicle will drive a high level of performance while delivering a reduction in environmental impact and improvements to air quality for the community,” said Chris Stoddart, President, North American Bus and Coach, NFI, in a statement.

    The hydrogen buses will not only replace SamTrans' diesel buses but also support the agency’s transition to a zero-emission fleet to meet sustainability targets defined by the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation, requiring agencies to transition bus fleets to 100 percent zero-emission by 2040. The purchase will enable SamTrans to meet the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions targets of 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

    The investment is supported by combined funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) vouchers, and local funds.

    Hydrogen does not contain carbon in its molecular chain, but it also is not mined naturally. Industrial-scale hydrogen is generated often by steam reforming of methane gas, which is carbon intensive, or by electrolysis which splits the H2 from water. Green hydrogen can be produced when the electrolyzers are powered by carbon-free power generation such as solar, wind, hydro and nuclear.

    Market research firm Fortune Business Insights forecasts that the global hydrogen fuel cell bus sector could grow 40-fold in less than 10 years, from $1 billion now to $41 billion by 2032. Hydrogen fuel cell technologies offer longer ranges and shorter refueling than battery electric vehicles.

    E-Mobility is one of Many Paths to NetZero

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    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.