Hydrogen buses cost 41% more over their lifetime than battery-electric equivalents, say government advisors

H2 fuel cell buses rack up 70% extra in fuel costs compared to battery-powered models, French transport advisory body warns

Former Group Savac President Geric Bigot poses in front of the first hydrogen bus in Les Loges-en-Josas, on September 12, 2019 west of Paris.

Former Group Savac President Geric Bigot poses in front of the first hydrogen bus in Les Loges-en-Josas, on September 12, 2019 west of Paris.Eric Piermont/AFP via Getty Images

Buying and operating a hydrogen fuel cell-powered bus is 41% more expensive over the vehicle’s lifetime compared to battery-electric equivalents, influential advisors to French local governments have reported.

Centrale D’Achat du Transport Public (CATP), an advisory body funded by local governments and transport bodies to help officials with vehicle procurement, found that a 12-metre hydrogen fuel-cell bus would cost €1.3m ($1.42m) over its lifetime of 15 years, equivalent to €2.28 per km, according to CATP’s latest comparative study of various different powertrains.

A slow-charging battery-electric bus on the other hand, would cost around €972,000 — or around €1.62 per km — a difference of €394,800 over the lifetime (and 600,000km mileage) of the vehicles.

With a retail price of around €650,000, hydrogen buses are around 17% more expensive to buy than battery-electric equivalents, CATP figures show, but fuel is where the costs rack up.

In fact, with hydrogen pump prices in France around €10-14/kg (with subsidies and before tax), an H2 bus costs 70% more in fuel costs than battery-electric buses, despite the fact that power prices have more than doubled in France since 2021.

The €10-14 figure includes the installation and distribution costs associated with operating a hydrogen refuelling station, while the power costs for battery-electric models are calculated to include installation and operation of charging stations as well as civil engineering, connection and transformers.

Overall, hydrogen fuel makes up around a third of overall lifetime of the cost of an FCEV bus, CATP noted.

The CATP also noted that maintenance technicians working on hydrogen buses would need all the same electrical qualifications required for battery-electric models under French law, while also needing additional training to safely operate hydrogen equipment.

Last year, the French commune of Pau, which has operated eight hydrogen-powered buses since 2019, said it would opt for battery-electric in future due to high costs and technical issues with the H2 models, and improvements in electric vehicle technology.

However, the CATP’s calculations also found that hydrogen fuel-cell buses cost slightly less to maintain compared to a battery-electric, which the group assumed would require a mid-life battery replacement alongside other preventative maintenance that would cost a total of €270,000.

The hydrogen model would also require a replacement of its battery, as well as its heat pump, but this works out around 5% cheaper at around €257,000.

Even so, the report notes that the lifetime of a hydrogen fuel cell is typically five to ten years, depending on usage, and it is not clear whether the cost of replacing the fuel cell has been baked into CATP’s lifetime costs.

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