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Officials: Champaign–Urbana trip shows hydrogen buses are feasible; infrastructure costs remain a barrier
Summary
A delegation visiting Champaign–Urbana saw hydrogen fuel-cell bus operations and said hydrogen is workable but expensive; staff estimated about $20 million for startup hydrogen infrastructure and urged a phased approach combining battery-electric and hydrogen vehicles.
City and transit staff described a site visit to Champaign–Urbana's MTD to observe hydrogen fuel-cell and battery-electric bus operations. James Friess (S14) and other transit staff summarized fleet and operations differences, noting Champaign–Urbana's larger ridership driven by a major university and the presence of an electrolyzer and fueling infrastructure that produced roughly 420 kilograms of hydrogen per day during the visit. "It was about $20,000,000 at that time," Friess said when describing startup costs for a hydrogen deployment.
Staff emphasized a mixed-fleet, phased approach: maintain some battery-electric and introduce hydrogen where it provides operational advantages, including faster refueling (about 10 minutes) versus multi‑hour battery charging. They noted federal discretionary grant programs are available but competitive; a battery-electric bus sticker was cited at roughly $1.2–1.3 million and diesel at about $524,000, with hydrogen buses slightly above battery prices and infrastructure adding most of the upfront cost. Staff recommended exploring demonstration projects and regional partnerships to make any large-scale transition feasible.
