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Continuing the research on the use of green energy of hydrogen in city vehicles, Ltd “Jelgavas autobusu parks” (JAP) starts testing the hydrogen-powered bus of the company “Solaris Bus & Coach” on the 22nd route Jelgava station – Asteru Street. Jelgava is the first in the Baltic States to start these test drives. The only emissions from this bus are water, and it can travel up to 400 kilometers on a single charge and takes up to ten minutes to fill.

Already in May 2020, Jelgava City Council and Ltd “Fortum Latvia” signed a letter of intent, starting a joint study to evaluate the technical aspects and economic justification for the extraction and application of hydrogen. The aim of the research is to develop solutions that would allow to supplement the road transport of Jelgava municipal companies with green hydrogen electric buses and hydrogen electric waste removal vehicles in the future. In September, a hydrogen-powered car of the company “Toyota Baltic” was tested in Jelgava, but in the first week of February a hydrogen-powered bus will start operating in test mode in the city.

Jelgava is the first in the Baltic States to start testing only a hydrogen-powered bus. “Hydrogen – powered trolleybuses are available in Riga, which also use electricity, but this bus is powered only by hydrogen. With a full charge, the bus can travel up to 400 kilometers without emitting CO2 or other pollutants. In addition, it is very fast to fill – it takes about 10 minutes to fill a full hydrogen tank. It also takes 7-9 minutes to fill a diesel fuel tank, “says Gints Burks, a board member of JAP, pointing out that during the testing, the hydrogen-powered bus will have to be refilled in Riga and, according to the company’s calculations, every two days.

“We will see the real energy consumption in our city. In addition, it is very important that we can test the bus in winter when the air temperature is below zero. Hydrogen technology condenses water, so it is important to understand whether there is no problem with the hydrogen-powered bus during frost,” says G. Burks.

It should be noted that on the way from Riga, three kilograms of hydrogen were used for 50 kilometers. The average consumption of this bus is 6.7-7 kilograms of hydrogen per 100 kilometers. A representative of Solaris Bus & Coach in the Baltics points out that the price of a kilogram of hydrogen depends on the development of infrastructure and is influenced by many other factors, but the average price is currently 7-9 euros per kilogram.