The announcement was made in a release from the French region on 22 April. Earlier, in February, GCK announced that it obtained a contract for 50 retrofitted to hydrogen coaches for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region.
Pursuing the objective of making Auvergne Rhône-Alpes the leading hydrogen-powered region in France and a leader in hydrogen mobility in Europe, Laurent WAUQUIEZ, President of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, together with Éric BOUDOT, President of GCK, presented the Region’s new hydrogen-powered coaches for school and intercity transport, the company stated. The Region has just completed an order for 16 retrofitted coaches worth €8.5m. In total, a contract for 50 coaches has been signed with GCK: a first in Europe.
50 retrofitted coaches within two years
The order for 50 hydrogen retrofitted coaches by 2026, 16 of which will be delivered this year, is a European first and represents a regional investment of €25m (€8.5m for the first 16 coaches), out of the €135m earmarked for hydrogen mobility by the Region by 2026. The first 16 coaches will be used for school and intercity transport to our major urban centres on the Saint-Jean-de-Bournay-Vénissieux, Saint-Marcellin-Grenoble, Valserhône-Annecy and Annonay-Lyon routes.
These coaches will be converted at GCK Mobility’s workshops in Cournon (Puy-de-Dôme). The conversion involves replacing the existing internal combustion engine on the Iveco Crossway coaches with a fuel cell.
Photo of GCK
Press release of the region https://shorturl.at/chLVY
Press release of GCK https://shorturl.at/crEHT
