Van Hool to present its electric offerings at Busworld Europe 2019

Van Hool, an independent manufacturer of buses, coaches and industrial vehicles, will be exhibiting its strength at Busworld Europe, presenting no fewer than three world premieres to the general public.

In addition, Van Hool will be presenting a number of technological innovations on its vehicles, which reflect the company's innovative strength.

In 2017 the French city of Pau placed an order with Van Hool for 8 Exqui.City18 FCs: hydrogen-powered single-articulated tram-buses. This drive converts hydrogen and oxygen into electrical energy through reverse electrolysis. On the one hand the electricity is used to power the vehicle and, on the other, unused energy is stored in lithium batteries for additional power where and when needed, for example when pulling away from a stop. The only emission from this “zero emission” vehicle is water vapour.

These vehicles are also premieres in their own right: never before has a full Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system been built with hydrogen-powered single-articulated 18-metre tram-buses. The Exqui.City18 FC Pau design, has a capacity of 125 passengers. The vehicle can be fully refuelled in 10 minutes, and can travel approximately 300 km. Hence these buses afford bus companies the highest level of operational flexibility and productivity.

The CX45E is a fully electrically-powered coach for the US market. Van Hool selected Proterra, the leading American producer of battery technology for heavy vehicles, to supply the E2 battery technology. The 100% electrically powered vehicle will have a total battery capacity of 648Kwh and a working radius of approximately 300 km. This coach will be an ideal solution for many customers operating fixed routes, particularly in urban and private environments. With proprietary route modelling capability, Van Hool and ABC Companies, the exclusive partner and distributor for the North-American market, can ensure range capacity that is conservatively within each operators individual needs.

Van Hool has been working with its exclusive partner and distributor ABC Bus Companies, Inc. for more than thirty years, to put the Belgian company on the map in the US. Today, there are more than 11,000 Van Hool coaches and buses on the North American roads.

Van Hool has around 4,800 staff worldwide, the majority of whom work at the production facilities in Koningshooikt (Belgium) and Skopje (North Macedonia). Mmajority of units produced by the company are destined for Europe and the US.