By: GenH2 Staff
Read Time: 3 minutes

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA)’s 2023 TRANSform & EXPO Conference was held earlier this month at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The annual APTA conference is the flagship event for public transportation professionals to engage in workshops, experience technical tours, and network with colleagues, and our GenH2 team was proud to attend. Transportation authorities from around the world were in attendance to purchase buses, trains, signage, lighting, and even anti-graffiti-coated surfaces.

Keynote speakers and educational sessions explored cutting-edge hot topics, including transformative technology, equity, community building, funding and finance, safety and security, workforce development, worldwide mega projects, and more. We also attended several Hydrogen Workshops, including “Fuel Cell Seminar: Hydrogen 101,” Hydrogen and Battery: How Alternative Propulsion Will Help Make U.S. Transit Greener,” and “A Better Mousetrap: Fuel-Cell Dominant Hydrogen Buses.” Each of those workshops was fully attended with the audience actively engaged.

Our team was surprised and impressed with the size of the APTA show as it filled the Convention Center Expo Hall. On the first day of the Expo, it was apparent that the show’s focus was heavy on battery electric vehicle (BEV) technology. However, there was definitely a buzz about Hydrogen. Walking the show, we did indeed find several booths that focused on Hydrogen, notably Ballard, NEL, Stadler, NUVERA, Voltera Power, BAE Systems, Fleet Zero, and ENC-AXESS EVO-FC.

One noteworthy anecdote to share: we overheard one of the Sales Reps for a large bus manufacturer say, “There’s another one,” referring to a Hydrogen FCEV buyer for a major metro transit system who was exiting their booth, illustrating the fact that there were multiple buyers interested in Hydrogen FCEVs at the conference.

After speaking to several Board Members of various Metro Transit Authorities who expressed their interest in Hydrogen Fuel and Equipment, we believe the next Public Transit Conference will see many more hydrogen companies. For example, Hydrogen Buses and Trains are already on order, such as the latest $80M CalTrans H2 Train order from Stadler. Stadler also brought their “Flirt H2” train to Orlando allowing convention-goers a chance to ride the fuel cell-powered train. Riders were given full access to the vehicle, including the driver’s seat. The train was rather impressive and showed off Stadler’s smooth suspension in addition to the new powertrain technology.

For GenH2, our equipment portfolio of Hydrogen Liquefiers and Controlled Storage will create current opportunities for existing Liquid Hydrogen systems and future hydrogen fueling stations. We are already looking forward to next year when it will become even more clear that the Hydrogen Age is now.