Hawaii To Get First Fuel Cell Buses From BYD

BYD and the US Hybrid Corporation have teamed together to bring the first fuel cell powered bus to the road. The clean air vehicle, which uses hydrogen as a power source for its fuel cells, will go into service in Hawaii, serving the country's main airport in Honolulu.

The vehicle will be based on BYD's existing K9 electric bus platform, integrating fuel cell technology rather than batteries to deliver power for the electric motors. The buses will be assembled in the US.

BYD has already seen much success with its modern, clean air bus platforms being adopted widely in China. With tens of thousands of new electric buses being adopted every quarter in China, the company is on a path to record growth. This deal, which expands its offerings and reach can only be good for the company.

It is inevitable that electric bus adoption across the rest of the world will soon start to catch up with that of China, even if it's just because of the significantly lower lifetime costs of running an electric bus compared to a diesel one.

Diesel soot is harmful to your health as well as the environment and removing those particulates from the air - especially in big European cities where they are a major component of the pollution clouds which blight them - needs to be moved up the priority list.

For all the talk of self-driving cars and high speed rail links, it is a solid bus network as part of an integrated transport policy which delivers the best return on investment for governments and users. China has already demonstrated that the technology is good enough, political will is the only thing left delaying this change.