Author | Patricia M. LicerasFlixBus, Europe’s largest long-distance road transport operator, wants to take sustainable mobility one step further through buses. It will test vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel batteries for long distances, becoming the first company in the world to do so. In order to bring the project to life, the company, whose parent company is the German mobility provider FlixMobility, is in conversations with bus manufacturers and is working with technology experts from the German firm, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies.“Following the successful launch of three electric long-distance buses, we now want to develop the first long-distance bus with fuel cell drive together with Freudenberg and set another milestone in the history of mobility”, indicated Fabian Stenger, managing director of FlixBus DACH. In 2018, the company presented the first fully electric regular long-distance bus lines, which initially hit the roads in France and then also in Germany.Hydrogen is set to become one of the fuels of the future. A possible substitute of petrol or diesel, it is considered to be an alternative to plug-in electric vehicles, which have less autonomy compared to conventional vehicles and depend on a supply network which, among other aspects, are hindering its mass implementation in the short term. Having said this, the recharging infrastructure for hydrogen vehicles is still in the very early stages compared to electric vehicles. Germany is the EU country that is investing the most in this area, with over 75 hydrogen filling stations and another 45 being created, according to figures from the website H2.live. Figures are increasing in other European countries, but at a slower rate.
The same performance without emissions
