London is adding ten hydrogen powered buses to its fleet. Mayor Ken Livingstone has contracted US manufacturer ISE Corp to supply the new vehicles, and cites reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions as the primary impetus.

"London is now the first city in Europe to commit to a hydrogen bus fleet of this size, which will match traditional diesel buses in terms of performance," Livingstone said.

For £10 million ($20.75 million), London will receive five buses which run on hydrogen fuel cells and another five which burn hydrogen in a traditional engine. These will supplement the existing fleet of 8,000, many of which are diesel hybrids. The mayor’s target is “to have five per cent of all public sector fleet vehicles powered by hydrogen by 2015."

These buses are about eight times more expensive than traditional diesel buses. Mike Weston, Operations Director for London Buses, says that because the hydrogen buses produce no emissions beyond water vapor, they’re worth the extra cost.

While we at Carectomy think that public transportation in general is the bee’s knees, are jealous as hell of the systems in place in European cities, and recognize that alternative fuels can make mass transit an even deeper shade of green, there are some holes and perhaps some greenwashing in London’s bus project. Hydrogen fuel is not currently even close to “zero emissions.” Although the actual vehicle may only be emitting water, how dirty is the power source that separated the hydrogen to begin with (a very energy intensive process)?

Down the road, hydrogen tech may be a wonderfully green endeavor, and perhaps London’s financial support will help that mission along.

Via Environmental Graffiti. Photos via Flickr by St Stev, & IanL