Alsa unveils first hydrogen bus that will operate permanently in Spain
The transport company Alsa has put into operation the first city bus powered by renewable hydrogen that will provide stable and permanent service in Spain on an urban line. The vehicle, a H2 City Gold manufactured by the Portuguese company CaetanoBus, will operate on Line 4 in the city of Torrejón de Ardoz, which is part of the public transport network of the Community of Madrid managed by the Regional Transport Consortium (CRTM).
The 100% zero emission bus will refuel at the hydrogen station opened at the Alsa facilities, the first available in the Community of Madrid for public transport, which guarantees the supply of hydrogen and solves the main requirement for the development of this technology. The filling station has a load capacity of 50kg/day and was developed by Carburos Metálicos, a leading company in the industrial and medicinal gases sector in Spain, which will also be in charge of supplying renewable hydrogen.
This milestone represents another step forward and forms part of Alsa’s new environmental challenge, which is specified in the commitment that all urban buses operated by the company in Spain will be zero emissions by 2035. This same commitment to a zero emission fleet was made for long-distance coaches by 2040.
“This project is a new step in our goal of leading the transition to clean fleets in our country and is part of our commitment to the decarbonization of public transport. The start-up of this first hydrogen bus in our country is a great example that when public entities, in this case the CRTM, and private operators work together in search of shared objectives, the results are guaranteed” said Francisco Iglesias, CEO of Alsa
“Community of Madrid and Alsa’s commitment to hydrogen-based sustainable mobility shows that the technology is mature and ready to contribute to the decarbonization of public transport in the cities of our country. Carburos Metálicos will continue promoting knowledge of these solutions as experts in the entire H2 value chain, from production to supply to vehicles”, said Miquel Lope, General Director of Carburos Metálicos.
“It is a great pride to have a Caetano bus in the fleet of an operator with such a clear concern in the fight against climate change. Alsa’s environmental commitments are ambitious and we are sure that our buses will contribute to its environmental performance. It is a proof that only the alignment between operators, public policies and manufacturers can give good results in this sector”, commented Nuno Carvalho, General Commercial Director of CaetanoBus.
It should be noted that since 2020 Alsa has not added any non-eco or zero emission vehicle to its urban operations. Currently, as part of its commitment to sustainable mobility, it has 455 alternative energy vehicles in its different variants (electric, hybrid, CNG/LNG and bi-fuel, both CNG and LPG), which represents the 15% of the total fleet operating in Spain.
