#PoweredByBallard: Hong Kong's first hydrogen bus draws crowds at maiden journey

Delivering Hong Kong’s first-ever hydrogen fuel cell-powered double-deck to the transit agency, Citybus, Wisdom Motor’s DD12, powered by Ballard, hit public roads for its inaugural ride in February 2024.

With capacity for nearly 100 passengers, the zero-emission bus has a 420km range, refuels in 10 minutes, and is powered by an 80kW fuel cell engine developed by the Weichai-Ballard joint venture; and is based on Ballard’s FCgen®-LCS stack technology.

Generating a large amount of excitement ahead of its maiden trip, hundreds of clean transport enthusiasts lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the emission-free vehicle in action, with one eager student queuing up from 3am in order to be the first person to step foot on-board.

Beginning the day’s service at Kai Tak, the 12-meter fuel cell bus travelled to Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong and Kowloon City before culminating its 40-minute journey in Cheung Sha Wan. Since March, the DD12 has been in regular operation on Route 20 between Kai Tak and Cheung Sha Wan, and has completed up to eight trips per day.

Citybus plans to have five hydrogen-powered buses on the road for parallel testing and deployment - complementing a purchase of five additional electric double-deckers - by the end of 2024.

The transit operator’s existing hydrogen refueling station (HRS) is located in Kowloon, and with current regulations in the region restricting the access of hydrogen buses to travel through tunnels, Citybus plans to navigate this limitation by building a second HRS on Hong Kong Island to deploy zero-emission vehicles into public operation across various locations.

"The DD12 fuel cell bus from Wisdom Motor is a game-changing innovation that provides a reliable, emission-free solution which demonstrates our commitment to clean energy transportation. With continued service on routes across Hong Kong, we will gather further invaluable operational insights into real-world scenarios, including differing traffic conditions, weather factors and performance. A successful culmination of the program will help Citybus to achieve our target of a zero-emission fleet by 2045 - five years ahead of the government deadline."

 

Roger Ma General Manager, Operations, Citybus

Ballard has been in a strategic partnership with leading automotive equipment manufacturer Weichai Power since 2018, with the joint venture helping to develop the value proposition of fuel cell electric vehicles and Ballard's leadership position in PEM fuel cells in China through pioneering zero-emission heavy-duty programs across regional bus and truck markets.