The Scottish bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, which was recently taken over by North America’s largest bus manufacturer NFI Group, is expanding its range to include a double-decker with hybrid drive. The basis is the Enviro400EV, which is also on the road in London as a fully electric bus.
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Harrogate Bus Company unveiled eight electric buses in July, announcing a five-year vision to make Harrogate a low emission bus town. But in a statement, the company revealed it needs a diesel generator because it is struggling with infrastructure.
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The city council of Birmingham has paved the way for a hydrogen bus trial scheduled to start in March 2019. 20 buses shall be deployed on key routes. The 13.4m pounds project is backed by several grant contributors such as the Office for Low Emission Vehicles or the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. Potential operators for the scheme can still respond to an open tender.
smmt.co.uk, hydrogentoday.info
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75m for electric transport: The British government and industry awarded almost 75m pounds to five projects. The biggest bulk (46.5m GBP) goes to the London Taxi Corporation to develop electric cabs. Morgan Motors receives funding to develop hybrid- and electric drives for sports cars, while AGM Batteries is working on battery packs. Parker Hannifin looks at electric forklifts and last, Jaguar Land Rover receives 13.1m GBP for turbocharger supply in the UK.
gov.uk
Joint fuel cell production: Honda and GM will set up a joint fuel cell production facility. The firms have been working together on the technology since 2013 and aim for a mass market eco car. The move is expected to decrease costs. Serial production of fuel cells will start by 2025 at the latest.
asahi.com
Fuel cell price break: A team from the University of Delaware was able to replace platinum catalysts with cheaper nickel ones, switching the operating environment from acidic to basic. The resulting hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cell is hoped to considerably bring down cost of FCVs.
phys.org, greencarcongress.com
EV testing facility: Milton Keynes continues to bolster its smart city approach, opening a new testing centre for electric and hybrid vehicles. The Intertek facility has the biggest capacity in Great Britain and includes battery simulators and emissions measurement equipment.
miltonkeynes.co.uk, businesscar.co.uk
