Energy system analysis of the fuel cell buses operated in the project: Clean Urban Transport for Europe

During the project Clean Urban Transport for Europe (CUTE), which ended in May 2006, 27 fuel cell buses were operated in nine European cities. In this paper key performance parameters from the operation of the fuel cell buses in the project are reported, the energy system of the bus is analysed and drive cycle tests in five cities are presented and analysed. The focus of the paper is on fuel consumption and optimisation potential but experiences of, and recommendations for, evaluation in large demonstration projects are also presented. The results show that although the total fuel cell system efficiency was found to be high (36–41%), the fuel consumption was higher for the fuel cell buses than for diesel buses. Since the CUTE buses were a pre-commercial generation of fuel cell buses, with standard auxiliaries and extensive reliability measures, large fuel consumption reduction is possible. Suggestions on how to increase the efficiency is presented in this paper. Minimising the reliability measures would decrease fuel consumption by about 20% and lowering the weight by 2 tonnes would decrease fuel consumption by another 10%. Hybridisation in combination with using electrical auxiliaries could save an additional 5–10% or more.