Courtesy from Ad Astra Rocket
The electric bus that will run on hydrogen as a fuel, operated by Ad Astra Rocket, is already in Costa Rica. However, it is still necessary to comply with some formalities in customs and field tests for its operation.
This company, managed by the scientist Franklin Chang, explained in an official statement some details about the bus that will soon be in the streets of Liberia, Guanacaste.
The launch of the bus makes the country the second Latin American nation to promote this technology after Brazil, where exhibition buses already operate in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
1. Its name is ‘Nyuti’, which comes from the Chorotega indigenous language of Guanacaste and means ‘Star’. Stars are composed mainly of hydrogen.
2. It is the first electric transport unit that works with hydrogen in Costa Rica.
3. It was developed in an alliance with other companies, such as the French Air Liquide, the US hybrid Corporation and Cummins, and the Costa Rican operator Relaxury.
4. Once it leaves customs, in Limón, it will be transported to Liberia, where it will undergo tests and protocols in the research center of Ad Astra Rocket.
5. The vehicle was shipped to Costa Rica by the US Hybrid Corporation in South Windsor, Connecticut, although it was produced by the Belgian company Van Hool.
6. Once completed procedures and protocols, tours will be made on the streets of the city.
7. The bus will be able to cover 338 kilometers, with 38 kilograms of compressed hydrogen and carrying 35 seated passengers.
8. It is the first vehicle in Central America that works with a hydrogen battery and electric propulsion.
9. It has zero carbon footprint.
10. The company takes it as a first step to boost hydrogen in Costa Rican transport.
How does hydrogen work?
• It is produced through renewable electricity, by electrolysis of water. It is stored for later use .
• When used in transport, the battery with stored hydrogen combines with oxygen to generate electricity, power the engine and produce movement.
• Its only by-product is water vapor.
The hydrogen project began in 2012 through an alliance between the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope) and Ad Astra. However, after legal problems detected in 2015, the initiative passed to an association of several companies that opted for financing from the Banking System for Development (SBD).