Ford has made delivery of a fleet of new hydrogen-powered buses to the Detroit airport, replacing their old shuttle buses.
Ford Motor Company and U.S. Congressman John Dingell and the Wayne County Airport Authority today announced the delivery of two hydrogen-fueled Ford E-450 shuttle buses to be used for transporting airline passengers between terminals at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW).
Today’s delivery is the result of a partnership involving Ford, the Wayne County Airport Authority and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG). The project is being funded with a Department of Energy grant that was supported by Congressman Dingell, who represents Michigan’s 15th District.
Now, the buses aren't hydrogen electric buses, which is the ideal, but the buses have hydrogen-combustion engines. In other words, their still burning the fuel, just using a different fuel. This means that they're still creating greenhouse-gas emissions, but at a far lower level than diesel buses.
Some will argue that they should have gone the full route and used hydrogen-electric engines, but Ford clearly states that this is part of their research into hydrogen-powered vehicles, and not a long-term commercial solution in their eyes. As I see it, any reduction in CO2 emissions is a good thing, and near-zero emissions is a lot better than current engines produce.
