The first hydrogen powered, passenger-carrying vehicle approved for use in the streets of Italy is an Irisbus Iveco City Class bus.

Following extensive development in the laboratory and on the test track, the fuel cell bus has been type-approved and can now be seen travelling along city streets.

When Iveco CEO José Maria Alapont handed over the keys, in late November, in the presence of the Minister for the Environment Altero Matteoli, the Mayor of Turin Sergio Chiamparino and the Vice President of the Piedmont Regional Council William Casoni, Iveco demonstrated that it is a leader in research and development in public transport, with regard to the use of hydrogen technology.

“Today marks an important step forward in an innovative project,” commented José Maria Alapont, “concrete proof of our determination to develop cutting edge technological solutions that respect the environment. This vehicle is the result of experience and skills contributed by the entire Fiat Group.”

Iveco has drawn on many years of experience in the field of hybrid, methane, and alternative fuel engines. It has been supported by the expertise of Centro Ricerche Fiat, which offered its own specialist knowledge in the field of hydrogen power systems, and developed the software that manages the system.

The Fuel Cell City Class is equipped with hydrogen tanks positioned on the roof of the vehicle to supply the fuel cells. These, in turn, produce electricity by electrochemical reaction. The energy thus produced is stored in the batteries and supplies the converter and the electric drive engine.

The vehicle has an operating capacity of 12 hours and a top speed of 60 km/h.
 

 The vehicle specifications are those of a conventional Iveco town bus: 12 metres long, 3 doors, 21 seats, 51 standing passengers and 1 place for a wheelchair.

A period of advanced experimentation now starts,  commencing with six months of road tests without passengers during which the vehicle’s performance will be fully assessed and its operating specifications measured.

For the purposes of this project, Iveco Irisbus created a temporary industrial association coordinated by GTT (Gruppo Torinese Trasporti), with a group of specialist partners, that included Sapio, Ansaldo Ricerche, CVA and Enea.

Irisbus is the Iveco company that specialises in the production of urban and out-of-town buses for regular routes, touring coaches, luxury coaches, minibuses and school buses. Centro Ricerche Fiat is the point of reference for innovation, and for research and development services for all Fiat Group companies.

Iveco itself is a Global Company with a full range of vehicles and engines, committed to the world of transport and to customer satisfaction through leading-edge technology, reliable performance and quality excellence of its products and customer global services. The strategy of Iveco is to generate profitable growth by focusing on customers and markets, strengthening the technological content and competitiveness of our products.

Transport Safety, Environmental Care and Productivity on the Road are core issues in our strategy, as well as Technological Innovation and Lean Enterprise. Iveco manufactures and sells more than 140,000 commercial vehicles and 420,000 engines all over the world with total revenues of about € 9 bn. It has 49 plants in 19 countries worldwide, 15 R&D centers, 31,000 employees and 843 dealers.