Loop Energy revealed that Mobility & Innovation is launching its H2Bus, an 8 m hydrogen-electric minibus, in Bratislava, Slovakia.

With more than 1,200 km driven, Mobility & Innovation developed the bus to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen fuel cell technology in transit vehicles and market its future product line. The bus, with seating for 21 passengers, offers a zero-emissions solution to urban transit. Power will be provided by a Loop Energy S300 Series hydrogen fuel cell system and an electric motor.

Mobility & Innovation will display the bus in Slovakia, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, with the goal of securing orders for the H2Bus in markets across Europe.

Fuel efficiency is the standout feature, with the H2Bus requiring just 10.5 kg of hydrogen to achieve more than 400 km of range. The increased fuel efficiency allows for lower onboard fuel storage, which has enabled the flexibility to integrate the hydrogen tanks into the bus' engine compartment. H2Bus is an early example of where this design has been made possible in a minibus.

Mobility & Innovation chose Loop Energy's 30 kW fuel cell system after its eFlow technology outperformed competitors' products in fuel efficiency tests last year. Throughout the Pilot Phase of its Customer Adoption Cycle, Loop Energy provided integration and design support to help achieve EU homologation approval. Now that Mobility & Innovation can offer the H2Bus for fleet deployment, Loop Energy believes it is close to advancing to the Scale up Phase. The launch is a successful example of Loop Energy's go-to-market strategy to focus on hydrogen fuel cell adoption within commercial mobility.

"We are extremely excited to see the H2Bus come to life and believe it will set a new standard for performance in hydrogen-electric mobility across Europe," said Loop Energy Chief Commercial Officer, George Rubin. "Throughout this project, the focus has been on how we can make the H2Bus as fuel-efficient as possible – we are proud that our eFlow technology could help Mobility & Innovation achieve its fuel consumption targets."

"The H2Bus has always had ambitious fuel consumption targets, and by choosing Loop Energy's fuel cell, we did not have to compromise our vision," said Mobility & Innovation Co-Owner and CEO, János Onódi. "We aim to show bus fleet operators around Europe that hydrogen mobility is a viable option when transitioning to electrification."