Alabama to Get Hydrogen Bus and Fueling Station

April 5, 2012 | By Hydro Kevin Kantola | Filed in: Hydrogen Buses.

The Deep South isn’t known for being socially or technically progressive. Up until now Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have yet to have a hydrogen car or bus driving around their states.

Now, Alabama has decided to cast off the past a bit and step into the future by bringing home a hydrogen fuel cell demonstration bus and fueling station to Birmingham. Air Liquide will be the compressed hydrogen gas supplier on this project.

A non-profit organization called the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) will be overseeing this Sweet Home Alabama project.

According to CTE, “CTE, a non-profit organization that specializes in bringing clean transportation technologies to market, is managing the Birmingham Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration. Air Liquide joins an already experienced team that CTE has assembled for the project. EVAmerica, an organization specializing in the design, development and manufacturing of electric and hybrid-electric medium to heavy-duty vehicles will design and integrate the bus, and the fuel cell is being provided by Ballard Power Systems.

“The bus will be operated in regular service in the Birmingham – Jefferson County Transit Agency (BJCTA). The University of Alabama Birmingham will be responsible for data acquisition and analysis, the results of which will be published when the demonstration is complete.”

At the NREL.gov website the current demonstration hydrogen fuel cell bus projects are listed. California accounts for 16 of the bus projects and all of the other states participating in this type of project add up to 11 combined.

Representing the South are South Carolina, Texas and now Alabama. I’m pretty excited that another southern U. S. state has decided to jump onboard a hydrogen bus demonstration program. And I’m not just whistling Dixie.


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