Public-private partnership will allow the development of the first hydrogen bus made in Chile
The project, led by Anglo American, Colbún and Reborn Electric Motors with the support of Corfo, will develop technology which will allow the start of a zero-emission model. The goal is to have the first operating bus in 2025.
An unprecedented project in the country headed by a group of companies such as Anglo American, Colbún and Reborn Electric Motors that, with the support of the Corporación de Fomento de la Producción (Corfo), will build the first hydrogen bus manufactured integrally, and from scratch, in Chile.
This initiative has a budget of US$755 mil equally provided by Colbún, Anglo American and Corfo while the manufacturing will be conducted by Reborn Electric Motors, the chilean technology startup that is speeding up the transition to a sustainable mobility on the country and Latin America, through the development of electric buses in Rancagua. As strategic partners, in this alliance will also participate the Centro Nacional de Pilotaje (CNP) and Fundación Chile.
The guidelines contemplate the bus to complete every stage for its construction on a local level: from engineering design, going through the prototype, until the commercial validation of the model. This project is set within the deepening I+D politic to promote the Green Hydrogen deployment in Chile, taking in full consideration the environmental benefits of this fuel and the resources the country has for its further development.
The main target id for the bus to be used in everyday environments. Indeed, once completed, it is expected to operate on a pilot basis on public transportation routes. In addition, a work plan will be established so the bus can be taken to schools and universities in Chile to study its implementation in the future, through technology transfer.
Anglo American’s corporate affairs and sustainability vice-president, Juan Pablo Schaeffer, assured that the participation in this project shows the company compromise with clean technologies deployment. “We’re proud to be boosting such an important project like this one, that combines technological development, multi-sector partnership, Chilean state support, and collaborative work to face big challenges. Green Hydrogen is key to addressing climate change, which is the main challenge in today's society”, he said.
On the other hand, Colbún pointed out that this achievement marks a turning point in the hydrogen industry development. “We’re pleased to promote approaches that offer new technological alternatives to public transportation, contributing to Chile’s decarbonization. Besides, this project will generate knowledge and competences that will mark a milestone in the Chilean industry”, added Heinz Müller, Colbún’s innovation, planification and new businesses manager.
Reborn Electric Motors’ co-founder and general manager, Felipe Cevallos, represented Chile at the COP 28 and has vast experience developing electric buses to be used in the mining sector as well as in green hydrogen systems. “It makes us proud to see Chile as a development and innovation pole. Certainly, to build this hydrogen bus it’s a landmark in the national technology development since it makes possible the transport decarbonization in applications where high autonomies are required. To accelerate the sustainable transport transition is our mission. Designing, developing and launching this vehicle will be the proof”, emphasizes.
Likewise, Corfo’s executive vice-presidente, José Miguel Benavente, maintained that InnovaChile’s Crea y Valida line of financing “seeks to support the development of new and better products and processes that requires I+D, from the prototype to the technical and commercial phase. It is about supporting initiatives based in I+D that allows the transformation of productive sectors, through the materialization of projects led by their own companies, like it is the case with the first hydrogen bus made 100% in Chile”. ● Crea y Valida program. ● The technological center supported by Corfo (CNP), will conduct the pilot test, both for its design functionality as for its road performance. “We’ll apply piloting protocols, measuring and validating the vehicle performance in different service conditions. This information will allows us to analyze its autonomy and to inspect the critical variables to plan the H2 bus operation in this version as well as the units optimization that will be mass produced afterwards”, explained Andrés González, Centro Nacional de Pilotaje’s general manager.
Meanwhile, Fundación Chile’s general manager, Hernán Araneda, emphasizes that “the initiative it’s and important impulse to move towards a carbon neutral economy and it demonstrate that the collaborative work between the public and private sector in radical innovation projects produces a high impact in the territories and in the well-being of the people. In Fundación Chile we are devoted to promoting initiatives that reflect a responsible use of natural resources to speed up climate change adaptation”.
About the bus:
- Capacity: 24 passengers.
- Projected autonomy: 450 kilometers.
- Maximum speed: 90 km/h.
- Measurements: 8 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, and 3.4 meters tall.
- It will be able to operate in different environments: industrial, urban, or rural.
- Fuel storage tanks will have a capacity of approximately 20 kg.
- The engineering development process would extend until May 2024.
- Then, the assembly and technological and technical testing stages are planned.
- Fully operational bus: first half of 2025.
Towards the future, it is suggested for the bus to be used in a mining environment as well as in other productive sectors of the country, which will allow it to provide clean transportation solutions, giving early access to this kind of technology in Chile and expanding the availability of suppliers of this type of equipment.