No Fuel for Palma Majorca Hydrogen Buses

The five Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses acquired by Palma Majorca Council are off the road because there isn't sufficient hydrogen to power them.

The buses were first shown in March of this year by the previous administration. The new councillor for mobility, Antoni Deudero has said that the purchase was both a nonsense and a deception. 

They were bought without guarantees that they would have sufficient supplies of fuel. 

The cost of the five buses was 4.8 million euros, almost one million for each vehicle. By contrast, natural gas buses cost 280,000 euros and could have bought 15 gas buses that would now be in operation.

The problem with supply of hydrogen, according to Deudero, is twofold - the Lloseta plant cannot produce it and there are shipping regulations regarding the pressure of hydrogen tanks. At present, it's "impossible" to put the buses into service. In addition, he says, the fuel cells for each bus are contaminated with refrigerant. "They're useless. They can't be used."

Councillor Deudero adds that work is being done in order to be able to use the buses "in the medium term".