Gatwick Airport is set to benefit from a pioneering fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses from The Go-Ahead Group, which will carry passengers on routes surrounding the airport and across the Crawley and Horley area.
Once fully delivered, the fleet will comprise 54 vehicles and will be one of the biggest hydrogen bus fleets in Britain. It will be served by a liquid hydrogen refuelling station – the largest of its kind in Europe.
The single-decker GB Kite Hydroliner buses, manufactured by Wrightbus, are the first hydrogen-powered vehicles in Go-Ahead’s fleet of more than 6,000 buses.
Minister for roads and local transport Richard Holden said: “Communities and commuters across the country know how important buses are – and these UK-made hydrogen buses could revolutionise transport for millions.”
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Hydrogen will be stored at the Metrobus Crawley depot in liquid form, before being converted to gas held in tanks on the roof of vehicles.
The liquid hydrogen refuelling station in Crawley is owned and operated by industrial gas company Air Products. Once it reaches full capacity it will be the largest of its kind in Europe and will be capable of providing the equivalent of fuel for over 100 buses per day.
“It is great to see these 20 new hydrogen buses on our roads, one of the largest fleets in the UK, backed by over £4.3 million of funding from our Ultra-Low Emission Bus scheme,” Holden continued.
“With nearly 3,400 zero emission buses funded across the UK since February 2020, this latest fleet puts us well on the way to meeting our target of 4,000 zero emission buses.”
