Beijing Public Transportation has received three new fuel cell passenger buses from DaimlerChrysler.

The three buses were paraded at the Fourth International Clean Vehicle Technology Conference and Exhibition and are prototypes of the green vehicle fleet that it is intended will serve Beijing during the 2008 Olympics.

The fuel cell buses are part of a fleet of 36 that DaimlerChrysler now has in operation in Europe, Australia and Asia and are evidence of an increasing global appreciation of the environmental benefits of hydrogen-powered transport.

Ma Songde, vice minister of science and technology in China, said that as the world's largest country and a developing one, China should provide a transport industry capable of saving energy and protecting the environment.

Dr Till Becker, chief executive of DaimlerChrysler Northeast Asia is pleased with the partnership.

"We want to make a contribution to the efforts of industry and government to make Beijing a better place to live and work," he said.

The buses will be used for public transport on an eight-kilometre route within Beijing's high-tech zone.

America and China have already reached an agreement to fit Beijing's current buses with new technology to reduce their particle emissions by as much as 90 per cent.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd