Metrobus are planning to bring hydrogen powered buses to Crawley at the end of 2021 and have a test bus in Crawley at the moment. Council leader Cllr Peter Lamb and Cllr Peter Smith were invited to see the test bus and have a ride on it recently.

The bus uses hydrogen as fuel produced by offshore wind farms in Kent. The gas produces electricity in a fuel cell to charge a battery on the bus, using state of the art technology. The tank will hold sufficient fuel for a typical day without recharging. (This is better than electric buses which typically need recharging during the day, effectively needing more buses in the fleet to run a regular service and, therefore, higher costs). Buses will be refueled at the Metrobus depot in Manor Royal where the supplies of Hydrogen will be stored.

The bus is silent when moving but otherwise the same as a ‘normal’ bus. The only waste product from using the bus is water! So no pollution.

We are looking forward to Metrobus introducing this technology to Crawley to help improve our air quality. First services are expected in Q3 2021.

Cllr Peter Smith

Cabinet member for Planning and Economic Development