Another L for H as every hydrogen bus in this European city fails at once

In another highly visible failure for hydrogen in the real-world, all 25 of the fuel cell-powered buses in the Poznan, Poland fleet failed at the same time yesterday morning, forcing the city to scramble diesel buses into action.

The City of Poznań, Poland deployed the first two of its hydrogen-powered Solaris in 2023. The deployment of these HFC buses was part of a larger, 25 unit order placed by the city back in in October 2022 — and, for a time, it seemed like the deployment was largely successful. That is, until all 25 buses broke down at once early Monday morning.

A spokesperson for MPK Poznań, the city’s bus operator, reportedly told Hydrogen Insight that the onboard computers on each bus signaled the failure at once, and that the issue was being investigated with help from Solaris, the bus manufacturer, and the hydrogen fuel supplier.

The company also told the the Sustainable Bus news site that, “the most likely cause of the malfunctions in several hydrogen buses in Poznań is poor fuel/hydrogen quality,” while another (?) spokesperson told local paper Wyboecza that the hydrogen purity must reach 99.97%. “This means that the hydrogen can only have 0.03% of other gases.”

378 fuel cell buses were registered in the EU in 2024, up 82% YOY, with Solaris controlling 65% of the HFC bus market. For context, approximately 49% of all new city buses sold in the EU in 2024 were ZEVs. Given that the total number of city buses registered in the EU in 2024 was around 35,000, this translates to approx. 17,150 zero-emission city buses, which puts the score at 378 HFCEVs to 16,750 BEVs (give or take 378).

Electrek’s Take

When MAN Trucks’ CEO said it was impossible for hydrogen to compete with battery electric in the transportation segment, it was frankly shocking how many people refused to listen. Now that the residents of Poznań are stuck breathing diesel fumes again, maybe they’ll pick the much more practical, predictable, and undoubtedly cleaner battery option next time around.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Hydrogen Insights, Sustainable Bus, Wyboecza.