A hydrogen bus is being tested in Cluj-Napoca, as part of a tour to promote these vehicles. The first trip will take place on Thursday, May 9, from 9.00 am, and the departure will take place in front of the Radisson Blu hotel. The hydrogen-powered bus will be tested until Friday, with passengers, on the public transport lines in Cluj-Napoca.
Rides on the hydrogen-powered bus will be free throughout the promotional tour, the local government announced.
Cluj hosts this tour to promote hydrogen buses, as part of the JIVE projects supported and financed by European funds. Cluj-Napoca will be followed this year by eight other cities from Greece, Bosnia Herzegovina and Bulgaria.
“Travel will be free throughout the promotional tour, and passengers will have the opportunity to have a real experience with this means of transport. The event in Cluj-Napoca is part of the JIVE European programs for the promotion of new technology in Central and Eastern Europe, events started in November 2022. Following the positive results of the first two promotion tours – one organized between November 2022 and January 2023 in Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary and the second organized between September and October 2023 in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia – this third tour aims to offer the opportunity to present in Cluj-Napoca hydrogen-based technology and to allow citizens and those interested to experience it”, Cluj-Napoca City Hall said in a press release on Wednesday.
How a hydrogen bus works
Hydrogen fuel cell buses are vehicles that run on an electric motor that is powered by hydrogen fuel cells, making them a zero-emission mode of transportation.
Hydrogen can be stored in compressed tanks, which are usually placed on the roof of the bus so as not to compromise passenger comfort.
The hydrogen that powers the bus can be green, which is the sustainable type of hydrogen obtained by electrolysis of water, or it can be blue or gray hydrogen obtained from fossil fuel sources.
Even if the bus runs on blue or gray hydrogen, it is still a more sustainable means of transport than diesel buses, but the ideal future of this type of bus implies that green hydrogen will be the main source of fuel for a cleaner environment.
