The technology

Buses The DaimlerChrysler buses used for the EcoBus trial ran on hydrogen gas, which was converted to electricity using fuel cell engines produced by Ballard Power Systems. Essentially, the buses were a combination of fuel cell engines and standard bus components such as the automatic transmission.

The advantages of using the hydrogen fuel cell technology include:

• no tail pipe greenhouse gas emissions;
• no particulate emissions (ie smog);
• low vehicle noise compared with conventional vehicles;
• more efficient than standard internal combustion engines; and
• potentially lower operational and maintenance costs than standard internal combustion engine vehicles.

The EcoBuses operated on normal Perth bus routes. Initially their operation was limited to the City Central Area Transit (CAT) routes, the City Link route and the Circle routes. These routes where chosen because they presented the buses with a range of different driving conditions and they maximised public exposure. As the trial progressed the buses operated on a wider selection of routes.

Hydrogen infrastructure

An important part of the trial was investigating the viability of the hydrogen infrastructure required to support the fuel cell buses. The hydrogen used in the Perth EcoBus trial was supplied by BP and was created as a by-product from their petroleum refinery in Kwinana. It was then refined by BOC and delivered to the refuelling station by two 34.8 tonne trailers. A purpose built refuelling station then took the hydrogen from the trailer and further compressed it to fill the EcoBuses.