Foton AUV Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Wins Likes from Harvard Scholars

On June 3, Professor Henry Lee from Harvard Kennedy School and Post Ph.D. Christian Binz from Harvard University paid a special visit to Foton AUV, holding in-depth talks with leaders from the bus maker and Chinese experts in hydrogen fuel cell. The two guests raised their thumbs after taking a ride on the 12-meter hydrogen fuel cell bus.

 

 

 

With the firm belief that the environmentally friendly buses are the future development trend in the auto industry, Foton AUV has been devoted to the R&D of hydrogen fuel cell buses for more than a decade. Currently, its fuel cell bus has fully reached zero-emission standards thanks to its state-of-art electric driving system where a series of electrochemical reactions occur between hydrogen and oxygen. Also, without any vibrations and noise, the vehicle is driving more smoothly.

 

Foton AUV fuel cell bus is able to drive over 500 km continuously, reaching high energy efficiency. Furthermore, the hydrogen powered bus has overcome a host of challenges which seems insurmountable to electric buses which have seen explosive growths in recent years.

When asked about the source of the hydrogen, Foton reveals that the gas can be obtained by various means. For example, when the power demand is at its low at night, the fuel cell restores the electric power which might be lost in storage in the form of hydrogen. Compared with the production cost ten years ago, it has dropped by over 50%. Thus, the obstacles on the way of producing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and building hydrogen refill stations have been removed. More importantly, Foton AUV hydrogen fuel cell bus has already achieved higher safety standards than those diesel- or gas-powered vehicles.

 

In 2014, Foton AUV rolled out five units 12-meter hydrogen fuel cell buses, cutting their production costs significantly and successfully overcome the unsatisfactory life-expectancy of fuel cells. In 2016, Foton AUV secured an order of 100 units hydrogen fuel cell buses, making the mass production of the vehicle achievable in the foreseeable future.