Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hong Kong’s first hydrogen-powered bus can’t hit the road yet

Hong Kong’s first hydrogen-powered bus can’t hit the road yet

Plans to test hydrogen vehicles stalled as Hong Kong has no law on its production, storage and refuelling.

Almost two months after Citybus showed off Hong Kong’s first hydrogen-powered double-decker, the vehicle has yet to leave the company’s depot.

The customised bus, designed and built in Fujian province for Hong Kong’s hilly terrain, is stranded because hydrogen is still considered a dangerous substance and it remains illegal to drive a hydrogen-powered vehicle.

“Under current laws, we cannot put the bus into service,” said Kenny So Kwok-kin, a general manager at Bravo Transport, parent company of Citybus, Hong Kong’s second largest bus company.

“The government needs to bring forward regulations vigorously so that we can test it or adopt it on a large scale.”

Hong Kong has no law on hydrogen refuelling.


Public transport operators and energy experts have warned that Hong Kong’s regulations are not keeping up with green tech development, despite the authorities pledging for years to improve sustainability in mass transit systems.

KMB, Hong Kong’s biggest bus operator, also said it was considering hydrogen-powered vehicles for its green fleet and had discussed it with manufacturers, suppliers and government agencies.

Hong Kong’s bus operators are looking at ways to build more eco-friendly fleets with a combination of electric and hydrogen vehicles.

Calls to develop hydrogen power began four years ago, when former environment chief Wong Kam-sing visited a hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer and a filling station in Japan.

Last year, city authorities listed green transport in the climate action plan that aims to attain zero vehicular emissions before 2050.

Former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also proposed collaborating with franchised bus companies to pilot the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Former chief executive Carrie Lam.


Franchised buses form the city’s second largest public transport network after the MTR rail network, serving more than 40 per cent of the city’s population daily.

Hydrogen vehicles are considered more promising than electric ones because they can be driven for longer and recharge faster.

Hydrogen buses are in use worldwide, with Beijing said to have the world’s largest fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles. China considers hydrogen a long-term strategy for carbon reduction.

But Hong Kong still has no laws governing hydrogen production, storage and refuelling.

“The key issue here is whether hydrogen should be viewed as a source of energy or a dangerous good,” said Gong Xiaohan, an energy law specialist at Chinese University.

Local legal restrictions would remain a hurdle if the government did not change the definition of hydrogen from an explosive to an energy source, she added.

Hydrogen is strictly regulated in many jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, because it is highly flammable and can explode spontaneously when handled inappropriately.

The Dangerous Goods Ordinance forbids the production, storage and transport of any gaseous, explosive or flammable substances unless otherwise warranted.

It is also illegal for dangerous goods vehicles to use tunnels without exemption, according to the Road Tunnels (Government) Regulations.

“It’s not just about using hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but also whether investors in mainland China or elsewhere can safely invest in hydrogen projects in Hong Kong,” said Gong, who is also doing postdoctoral research at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Germany.

“If we really want to decarbonise the transport sector, we need to ask how hydrogen can be given fair treatment so that it can access transmission networks, like power grids and pipelines.”

The Environmental and Ecology Bureau said it led an interdepartmental team to study how hydrogen vehicles helped to achieve carbon neutrality.

Last month, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan pledged to put hydrogen-powered vehicles to the test by 2024.

Tse Chin-wan, secretary for environment and ecology.


However, environmental scientists and green advocates in the United States and United Kingdom have begun warning that hydrogen power may not be as climate-friendly as it has been made out to be.

Since last year, they have voiced concerns that while it has been gaining attention as an alternative to fossil fuels, hydrogen emissions into the atmosphere add to global warming by upsetting the distribution of methane and ozone, the second and third most important greenhouse gases after carbon dioxide.

“Even green hydrogen has climate impacts,” said Ilissa Ocko, a senior climate scientist at the non-profit advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund in the United States. “My biggest concern is that we will move too fast to deploy hydrogen everywhere we can.”

Her studies have found that hydrogen can contribute to climate change. It can leak easily into the atmosphere to form compounds including methane, a greenhouse gas believed to be 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide in trapping heat.

Ocko said atmospheric hydrogen could trigger a chain reaction to produce ozone and water vapour, both classified as greenhouse gases.

“We need a clear understanding of additional climate and environmental concerns of deploying hydrogen at scale,” she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×