ComfortDelGro Australia to operate hydrogen-powered electric buses

COMFORTDELGRO's C52 Australian unit, ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia (CDC), has entered into a green hydrogen partnership that will see it operating 2 hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric buses in Geelong, Australia.

CDC is a foundation member of the Geelong New Energies Service Station project, a multi-million dollar hydrogen mobility development led by CDC's fuelling partner Viva Energy.

The project aims to be "Australia's most ambitious green hydrogen mobility project", CDC said in a statement on Tuesday (Mar 1).

The partnership will establish a hydrogen refuelling station in Geelong in late 2023, and see other partners deploying a fleet of hydrogen-fuelled heavy vehicles that will operate in the local community. It has received a A$22.8 million (S$21.7 million) grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency as well as a A$1 million grant from the Victorian State Government.

CDC's buses are scheduled to service customers from late 2023 and will be manufactured by Australian-based manufacturer Aluminium Revolutionary Chassis Company.

Noting that ComfortDelGro has "significant experience" in deploying hydrogen buses in London, CDC chief executive Nicholas Yap said: "We see strong potential for hydrogen and importantly an ecosystem of Australian-based providers driving collectively toward a cleaner future for Australians."

Shares of ComfortDelGro were trading at S$1.43 as at 11.11 am on Tuesday, up S$0.02 or 1.4 per cent.

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