Title:
Brazil Launches First Fuel Cell Bus in Latin America
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Technology Report.
See text below
Text:
If you travel by bus in Sao Paulo, Brazil these days
your vehicle may be powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
The citys urban transportation system recently
launched the first of up to five hydrogen buses.
The hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce
electricity and water. The bus uses a hybrid system
that combines the hydrogen fuel cells with high
power batteries. It can be driven three hundred
kilometers on the hydrogen cell and an additional
fifty kilometers on its batteries. The bus carries
passengers in communities around Sao Paulo.
The United Nations Development Program, the World
Bank and other private, public and international
groups supported the project. Project official
Carlos Zundt says the bus is the first of its kind
in Latin America. Mister Zundt says the vehicle
releases only water vapor and is "totally clean."
Traditional buses that run on diesel fuel release
harmful carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Most
buses around the world run on diesel fuel. Mister
Zundt says diesel vehicles are the main cause of
air pollution in Sao Paulo.
The cost of the bus has not been announced. Hydrogen
fuel cell buses cost more than traditional buses.
But Mister Zundt says reducing air pollution and
acid rain will reduce respiratory illnesses for
people in the city. In addition, the new bus is very
quiet and does not produce noise pollution. Mister
Zundt says a hydrogen bus will last an average of
twenty years, while a diesel bus can be used for
five to eight years.
Sao Paulo has almost twenty million people. Almost
half of them ride buses every day. Brazil has a
large, modern and competitive bus industry. It is
one of the top producers in the world. The project
hopes to export hydrogen fuel cell buses in the
future.
A Brazilian report says that Brazil is one of five
countries that have developed such buses. The others
are the United States, China, Germany and Japan.
But not everyone sees the hydrogen fuel cell bus as
the hope of the future. Critics note the high cost
of producing hydrogen. And they say other kinds of
energy choices can provide power for buses.
And thats the VOA Special English Development
Report. Transcripts and podcasts of our reports are
at voaspecialenglish.com.
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the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
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