New Flyer awarded largest hydrogen fuel cell-electric contract in company history, 108 buses to California's SamTrans

[Caribbeans]

New Flyer awarded largest hydrogen fuel cell-electric contract in company history, 108 buses to California’s SamTrans

New Flyer | St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA | October 21, 2024

New Flyer of America Inc., a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI) and a leader in zero-emission electric mobility solutions, today announced a new firm order for 108 zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ 40-foot transit buses from San Mateo County Transit (SamTrans), marking the largest single fuel cell bus order in New Flyer’s history. The contract for 108 buses was added to New Flyer’s backlog in Q2 2024, with firm orders placed over the second and third quarters.

SamTrans provides transportation services in San Mateo County, extending its reach to San Francisco and Palo Alto, California, delivering close to nine million bus rides across an extensive network of 74 bus routes.

This investment in fuel cell-electric buses accelerates SamTrans’ journey towards net-zero and is made possible through 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. These cutting-edge hydrogen buses will replace SamTrans’ diesel buses and 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% zero-emission by 2040. This purchase will also help SamTrans to meet the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions targets of 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030.

“Our partnership with SamTrans spans nearly 35 years,” said Chris Stoddart, President, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “During that time, New Flyer has delivered more than 175 buses, 27 of which were zero-emission. 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.” more
https://www.newflyer.com/2024/10/nfi-subsidiary-new-flyer-awarded-largest-hydrogen-fuel-cell-electric-contract-in-company-history-108-buses-to-californias-samtrans/

Strangely, while the H2 dispenser situation in LA is an embarrassing failure, the Bay Area can seem to keep their hydrogen stations open - at least most of the time, like Europe's stations.
https://h2fcp.org/stationmap

[Think. Again.]

1. K&R

[NNadir]

2. It would be cleaner and safer if they just burned the dangerous...

...natural gas used to make the hydrogen.

Besides the exergy destroyed in the steam methane reformer, they've now made a gas with lower viscosity, a far lower critical temperature, and known incompatibility with many metals.

We'll be lucky if no one is killed in this exercise in greenwashing natural gas.