A European perspective on the development for hydrogen powered buses for urban transportation in cities

Using common mode of transport is a key success factor for future generations to rationalise intercity travel and fuel consumption, and moving to sustainable solutions is in our great interest. The objective of this research is to understand the the acceptance of fuel cell (FC) buses in Europe, by addressing on 3 key objectives; (i) methods of integration of renewables in various power systems (ii) the replacement of fossil fuels with hydrogen (H2) fueled vehicles in the inter-city bus transport sector, and (iii) the discussion on implementing H2 buses in European cities, and the associated advantages to do so.Secondary research is carried out in this paper, with a focus on technology, economic and ecological literature that support to further understand the various elements related to this alternative source. Several case studies have been carried out in Europe to find various results on the testing and implementation of FC buses in cities. These buses are usually focused on public transport, however the similar findings could be extended to tourist run buses in cities as well. Various results are highlighted, for instance; public acceptance results, bus driver surveys, cost of implementation of additional infrastructure to make FC vehicles economically at par with diesel vehicles, reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to name a few. The case studies presented act as a key parameter for evaluation to assess the combined result for this research.Buses contribute to a large amount of travel covered annually around Europe, which is the target for the scope of this research. Like every technology, the time to have supporting infrastructure and policies will greatly affect the economic benefits for relevant technologies. However, from an ecological perspective it is clear to move to greener solutions. Several cities in Europe have already deployed various projects for FC buses which have varying findings that help stakeholders across the world to understand the benefits and limitations of such technologies.10