Polish electric bus manufacturer chooses Loop Energy fuel cells

ARP E-Vehicles, an electric bus manufacturer based in Poland, has chosen Loop Energy’s T605 fuel cell system for the Polish company’s new hydrogen-electric bus platform.

Once it’s delivered in Q4 2023, the 60-kW system will power ARP’s new 12-meter hydrogen-electric bus designed for municipal transit service markets in Europe.

Loop Energy's T605 fuel cell system has been selected by ARP E-Vehicles for the Polish company’s new hydrogen-electric bus platform. (Photo: Loop Energy)

ARP said it expects to complete its hydrogen-electric bus in Q4 2023, with commercial sales to begin in 2024.

Loop Energy’s value-added distribution agreement with Polish company Drabpol was important in the process, according to the companies, as local support was a requirement for ARP.

Partnered with Loop Energy since 2022, Drabpol is a technical support, design, implementation and market development firm and reseller for numerous global brands in Poland.

“We are excited that ARP E-Vehicles has selected Loop Energy, further validating our products in Europe’s significant bus sector,” said Luigi Fusi, Loop Energy vice president of Sales and Business Development EMEAR. “We are pleased to be working with Drabpol to facilitate our market development in Poland – the hub for bus manufacturing in Europe. This announcement is yet another excellent example of Loop Energy’s partnerships enabling our expansion into different markets around the world.”

Another important factor was technology that offers industry-leading fuel efficiency, which is offered by Loop Energy’s eFlow technology incorporated into the T605 system.

“In our meetings with ARP E-Vehicles, it was evident that the customer recognized Loop Energy offers them an advantage in deployment, operation, ease of integration, durability and reliability, and that last part is particularly important since the tender stipulations in this part of Europe includes provisions for long-term operation,” said Michal Sitek, HQ managing director and chief of R&D at Drabpol. “Combined with Drabpol’s educated and highly trained engineers to provide direct support, we are able to create a compelling product offering for ARP E-Vehicles.”

According to Loop Energy, this is the third European bus project to choose the Vancouver-based hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer – and the sixth time globally – though the project with ARP E-Vehicles is the first time Loop Energy’s new product line designed for rooftop mounting will be deployed.

In total, Loop Energy is now the provider of fuel cells addressing up to 12,000 units per year in serviceable market opportunities across Korea, Australia and several European countries.

“By 2028, bus manufacturers must fulfill the obligation within the EU for 30% of public transport to be zero-emissions,” said Piotr Śladowski, president of the board at ARP E-Vehicles. “With Poland being the largest European producer of electric buses in Europe, we will see significant growth in the coming years. Working with Drabpol and Loop Energy will allow us to secure a technological advantage and scale production capacity of hydrogen-electric buses.”