SAFRA is participating in Europe’s largest public transport event, Busworld, which will be held this year in Brussels from October 18 to 23. As a French manufacturer of electric buses, SAFRA will be presenting its energy pack, the key component of its Businova Hydrogen motorization, at this show. Hydrogen will be the theme of the SAFRA Manufacturer stand, which for the occasion will be hosting two players in the French hydrogen industry, McPhy and the SEM Eveer’Hy’Pôle, and will be welcoming the French hydrogen industry on Tuesday 22 October for a press conference.
Businova ramps up its pace
Businova’s news is a significant order book, mostly focused on hydrogen, with today nearly 80% of requests. Indeed, since its first contract won in 2018, with the Artois-Gohelle agglomeration, for the supply of 6 hydrogen buses, the company is particularly solicited for hydrogen bus supply contracts. Currently, SAFRA Constructeur is finalizing the delivery of 6 Businova H2 for the Artois-Gohelle agglomeration, and is manufacturing the 5 hydrogen vehicles for BE Green that will run on the KEOLIS Versailles network. The city of Le Mans has also ordered an H2 vehicle, and the company Hyport in Occitania has just ordered 5. The company has many projects and should very soon win its first international market. Other orders have also been placed for rechargeable hybrid electric Businova vehicles, in a diesel version for Albi, and in a gas version for Grenoble.
A new Businova in the range
Based on the Businova rechargeable hybrid electric bus with diesel range extender, SAFRA has recently developed a gas-powered version to meet many of its customers’ needs. A number of urban areas have chosen to invest in gas infrastructure to power their bus fleets. The Businova gas hybrid can run in very low emission mode, i.e. 250 km of autonomy per day, but above all it is the only one capable of running in zero emission mode on a given route, since its extension can be stopped on demand to use only its electric propulsion (100 km in zero emission mode). With this unique system, the Businova Plug-in Hybrid is classified as a Group 1 clean vehicle under the French Energy Transition Law. TRANSDEV chose this vehicle for a first prototype for the SMTC network in the Grenoble area, operated by SEMITAG. The official signature of this contract took place on Tuesday, October 1st at 1:30 pm on the SAFRA stand during the National Public Transport Meetings in Nantes. Once the prototype has been tested on the Grenoble network, an additional order should follow.
The hydrogen Businova approved
For SAFRA, 2019 will be a year of increased production rates. This year, SAFRA has chosen to give priority to its customer deliveries and to exhibit only its energy pack, the real technical innovation of the Businova, which contains the hydrogen fuel cell. This is an opportunity to showcase its unique propulsion system and its exceptionally innovative architecture.
The hydrogen Businova, based on the original electrical architecture developed by SAFRA, integrates its motorization and energy system in a separate chassis located at the rear of the vehicle. Inside this “energy pack” is the hydrogen range extender, a 30 kW fuel cell supplied by Symbio/Michelin, which powers a 132 kWh battery supplied by SAFRA. This battery pack is identical on the entire Businova electric range. Thanks to the 32 kg of hydrogen on board the roof in special tanks compressing the gas to 350 bar, the hydrogen Businova offers a minimum range of 350 km per recharge.
The innovative architecture of the Businova has enabled the hydrogen version to be developed very quickly, with official approval of the vehicle granted at the beginning of October this year.
SAFRA, a player in the hydrogen industry in France
As the pilot of the hydrogen bus project in France, following the signature of the Commitment for Green Growth (ECV) last May, SAFRA has gathered on its stand several actors of the hydrogen sector. The company McPhy, a specialist in the production and distribution of carbon-free hydrogen, and the SEM Eveer’Hy’Pôle, a test center for hydrogen vehicles and equipment). SAFRA, as a member of Mobilité Hydrogène France and pilot of the H2 Bus activity within the framework of the commitment for green growth (ECV), will receive on its stand the press conference organized by Mobilité Hydrogène France, on Tuesday October 22 (time to be confirmed) for the announcement of the publication of its white paper.