The future of public transportation is now.
The first five PostBuses with revolutionary fuel cell drive
have been in continuous operation in Brugg since December 2011.
So far, this is still a large-scale pilot project carried out in close cooperation with various partners.
But if successful, it could permanently change public transportation of the future.
During the five-year testphase alone, PostBus will save 2000 tonnes of CO2.
The hydrogen fuelling station for busses in Brugg, the first in Switzerland,
produces hydrogen from water.
At the core of the system is an electrolyser, where water is split into hydrogen and oxygen,
using certified green energy.
The hydrogen thus obtained is stored in gaseous form in a high-pressure tank.
Additional hydrogen is available in trailers to secure a steady supply.
This hydrogen is a byproduct of the chemical industry.
The five vehicles can therefore be fuelled quickly and safely, as needed.
The secret of the fuel cell PostBuses lies in the fuel cell itself.
Hydrogen and oxygen are combined in a controlled environment at a so-called ion-exchange Membrane.
The membrane allows the hydrogen nuclei to pass through easily.
But not the pertaining electrons.
These are held back at the membrane,
generating electric current to drive the electric engines of the fuel cell PostBuses.
On the other side of the membrane, the hydrogen is combined with the oxygen again,
turning back into water.
This reaction causes heat to be released, and therefore, what the fuel cell PostBuses emit,
is pure water vapour.
A fuel cell drive system is considerably more efficient than a conventional internal combustion engine.
Fully fuelled, a fuel cell PostBus has a range of approximately 250 km.
To further increase performance, the fuel cell PostBus is equipped with a lythium-iron battery,
where electric energy is temporarily stored.
Every time the fuel cell PostBus brakes, the electric engines generate power,
which is fed back into the battery.
This is a significant efficiency advantage,
as PostBuses frequently have to slow down, stop, and accelerate again.
There are many reasons why fuel cell technology is the energy system of the future.
For PostBus, the environment and the passengers.