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A hydrogen-fuelled public transport bus is being trialled for the first time in Bridgend. Bus operator First Cymru is running a two-week pilot programme which sees the bus run on green hydrogen from Port Talbot on routes around the town.

As part of the trial, drivers have been trained to use the vehicle and refuel it at hydrogen services provider Hyppo Hydrogen Solutions’ depot in Neath Port Talbot. The trial is part of plans to switch to cleaner alternatives to conventional diesel buses, as part of the Welsh Government’s target for all Wales buses to be zero emission by 2028.

It is being supported by Marubeni Europower, the renewable energy developer behind proposals for a £31m green hydrogen production facility in Bridgend. The facility, known as the HyBont green hydrogen project, would be built on land adjacent to Brynmenyn Industrial Estate in Bridgend.

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A planning application was submitted earlier this year to Bridgend County Council Borough Council. If given the go-ahead it would include a hydrogen production facility with electrolysers that generate hydrogen from electrical power by splitting water, along with hydrogen storage, and a hydrogen refuelling station on the land. The project could be completed by 2025, though some local residents have raised concerns over the location of the site being close to a nearby housing estate.

Developers say the facility would produce 443 tonnes of hydrogen a year, which would be used to supply local refuse collection vehicles, buses and light vehicles at the Brynmenyn refuelling station dispensers. Hydrogen would also be used to heat Coleg y Dderwen, Brynmenyn Primary School and Ynysawdre Sports Centre through a connected pipe.

Chief executive and president of Marubeni Europower Tomoki Nishino said: “Hydrogen fuelled buses offer a practical solution for communities to decarbonise public transport and immediately improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions. These trials are great news for Bridgend as they could lead the way for cleaner public transport.”

First Cymru operations manager David Thomas said the HyBont hydrogen bus has already proved popular with both drivers and passengers.

He said: “Our colleagues have spoken about how lovely the bus is to drive with it being very responsive on hills and tackling some of the more challenging routes with ease, which is great in the Cymru landscape, and passengers love the fact it’s zero emissions and that it is so much quieter, allowing them to talk to fellow passengers without shouting.”

Hyppo Hydrogen Solutions’ chief executive Chris Foxall said: “Hydrogen buses like the one used in this trial have a huge positive benefit to people living locally. A similar trial was carried out in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot recently with very positive results and we look forward to seeing hydrogen buses rolled out across the region in the near future.”