A contract to test a hydrogen-powered bus service on a main line of the T2C public transportation network has been given to Keolis by Clermont Auvergne Métropole and the Clermont City Public Transport Service (SMTC-AC).
Ten years from September 2024 onwards, Keolis will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of fourteen brand-new and modified hydrogen-powered vehicles (10 of which will be supplied by Safra and are part of the HYCITY series, which was recently shown at Busworld). According to the group, they will oversee this trial as well as serve as project manager.
The project involves creating a hydrogen-focused local ecosystem, which includes commissioning four retrofitted coaches and ten new buses in addition to producing 100% carbon-free energy at the Gravanches station and fueling the fleet at the Cournon-d’Auvergne compression and fueling station.
In the presence of Marie-Ange Debon, Chairwoman of Keolis and Group Chief Executive Officer, Olivier Bianchi, Mayor of Clermont-Ferrand and President of Clermont Auvergne Métropole, and François Rage, Chairman of SMTC-AC, the project’s partners presented this pilot test on Wednesday, October 18, at the National Transport Congress (RNTP).
The public-private company will be commissioning forty new battery-electric BRTs in late 2025, having discontinued buying diesel-powered buses since 2020. By 2035, it hopes to create a fleet composed completely of “low-emission” automobiles. This novel hydrogen-based experiment perfectly aligns with the Clermont-Ferrand metropolitan area’s energy and ecological transition strategy.
