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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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Hydrogen trials for two bus routes in the air
The government plans to test hydrogen buses on two routes by the end of next year as part of a push for zero emissions by 2050.
Assistant director of environmental protection Kenneth Leung Kai-ming said yesterday the hope was for a comparison of the performance and operational differences of hydrogen, electric and diesel buses during a one-year trial.
After sufficient data has been collected, the hope is that the road to that 2050 goal will be clearer.
In June, Citybus announced the advent of the first tri-axle hydrogen double-decker bus, the first bus to be powered by hydrogen in Hong Kong.
Leung also welcomed recommendations from the Zero Emissions Mobility Consortium, formed by bus operators, power companies, scholars and green groups, saying a timetable for phasing all commercial vehicles into electric power will be released around 2025.
The consortium comprises Citybus, Kowloon Motor Bus, New Lantao Bus, CLP Group, Hong Kong and China Gas and Power Assets, researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Polytechnic University and green groups. It published a joint communique on Tuesday, proposing six recommendations.
They included relinquishing existing stringent regulations on technology development and adoption in vehicles, boosting cross bureau coordination in transport infrastructure development and speeding up the Zero Emission Roadmap project development.
Consortium member and Civic Exchange executive director Lawrence Iu Chun-yip said: “Although bus operators have received funding to buy of clean energy-powered buses, they have yet to operate one bus route with them.”
Iu lamented the state of the SAR’s infrastructure in support of the buses.
Leung said a more progressive timetable can be made after evaluations based on coming few years’ trials with clean-energy buses.
The government announced a “Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularization of Electric Vehicles” last March aimed at expanding the EVcharging network as well as implementing a producer responsibility scheme for battery recycling. As such, new registrations of private internal combustion engine cars, including hybrids, will not be accepted after 2035.
After sufficient data has been collected, the hope is that the road to that 2050 goal will be clearer.
In June, Citybus announced the advent of the first tri-axle hydrogen double-decker bus, the first bus to be powered by hydrogen in Hong Kong.
Leung also welcomed recommendations from the Zero Emissions Mobility Consortium, formed by bus operators, power companies, scholars and green groups, saying a timetable for phasing all commercial vehicles into electric power will be released around 2025.
The consortium comprises Citybus, Kowloon Motor Bus, New Lantao Bus, CLP Group, Hong Kong and China Gas and Power Assets, researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Polytechnic University and green groups. It published a joint communique on Tuesday, proposing six recommendations.
They included relinquishing existing stringent regulations on technology development and adoption in vehicles, boosting cross bureau coordination in transport infrastructure development and speeding up the Zero Emission Roadmap project development.
Consortium member and Civic Exchange executive director Lawrence Iu Chun-yip said: “Although bus operators have received funding to buy of clean energy-powered buses, they have yet to operate one bus route with them.”
Iu lamented the state of the SAR’s infrastructure in support of the buses.
Leung said a more progressive timetable can be made after evaluations based on coming few years’ trials with clean-energy buses.
The government announced a “Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularization of Electric Vehicles” last March aimed at expanding the EVcharging network as well as implementing a producer responsibility scheme for battery recycling. As such, new registrations of private internal combustion engine cars, including hybrids, will not be accepted after 2035.
