SAFRA is participating in the French public transport event, the Rencontres Nationales du Transport Public, which is being held this year in Toulouse at the MEETT, from September 28 to 30. On this occasion, the French manufacturer of hydrogen-powered buses will focus on hydrogen, by exhibiting one of the 5 Businova H2 delivered to the Auxerrois agglomeration.
The participation to the RNTP 2021 is an opportunity for SAFRA to highlight hydrogen in all its applications in the company. First of all, by exhibiting a Businova 12-H2, a standard bus that perfectly meets the growing demand of cities that are embarking on the energy transition and the transformation of their bus fleet towards clean mobility.
The vehicle on display at this event belongs to the Agglomération de l’Auxerrois, which has ordered 5 Businova H2 buses as part of the creation of its complete ecosystem around hydrogen production. The Auxerrois, represented by its president Crescent Marrault, launched its Hydrogen Hub last March, with the presence of numerous political figures. This H2 ecosystem, financed in part by the ADEME, is based on the creation of a multimodal green hydrogen station, exclusively from renewable sources (wind farms, Morvan dams…). The station will enable hydrogen to be supplied to trains and buses, as well as to industrial uses.
Also in the hydrogen news, the company is announcing a new skill within its SAFRA Renovation activity, with the retrofit of diesel coaches into hydrogen-powered electric vehicles. The Occitanie Region has recently signed an order for 15 retrofit coaches. These vehicles will be transformed in SAFRA’s workshops with the replacement of the diesel engine, the gearbox and the exhaust by a hydrogen system. The recent innovations achieved by the company through the development of the Businova H2 can thus be pooled for the benefit of this new activity, allowing the company to develop a new service that is fully in line with societal and environmental issues.
With the development of these activities around hydrogen technology, SAFRA is a key player in the transformation and decarbonization of transportation. The recently announced growth plan, with the opening of its capital to Transition Evergreen, the expansion of its plant and the creation of several hundred jobs, will enable the company to meet the strong demand of the national and international market.