After Normandy, where hydrogen buses operate on the Rouen urban network, Occitanie becomes the first region in France to put retrofitted hydrogen buses into circulation on regular lines.
After twelve years of service transporting nearly 500,000 people over nearly 600,000 km, the Safra company, based in Albi (Tarn), transformed an old diesel coach into an electric coach, with a fuel cell powered by electricity. 'hydrogen. The first two retrofitted coaches will be put into service by the end of April on the lines linking Albi, St-Sulpice and Lavaur, using motorways and departmental roads.
Extend the life of coaches and create a new sector
It is within the framework of the European Corridor H2 project, aimed at massively decarbonizing the transport of passengers and goods, that the region has initiated the transformation of 15 diesel coaches into coaches with no environmental impact since they only emit carbon dioxide vapor. 'water.
“This technology developed by Safra, allowing coaches to travel over long distances, is part of the development of an ecosystem dedicated to green hydrogen,” underlines Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie region. The coaches will be powered by the hydrogen production plant in Bessières then a station in Tarn. This allows us to extend the life of the coaches and create a new sector.”
Nearly 80 employees out of the 220 in the Safra company worked on this innovation which required an investment of 7.5 million euros. Thirteen other retrofitted hydrogen coaches will be put into service in Occitania by the end of the year.