September 9, 2022. Historical player in passenger transport in the Maritime Alps, the Barbotto Group is accelerating its transition to new energies. Bringing together the transport companies TANP and STVE, it has just inaugurated its first private natural gas vehicle (NGV) station in Nice, France. Equipped with two 400 Nm compressors and a fast terminal, the facility was developed by SEVEN and is intended to supply gas buses operated on behalf of the Region and the Metropolis.
“All the levers of the transition at the city and metropolitan level have been activated to achieve the objectives of our metropolitan climate plan”, underlined Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis. “27% of the bus fleet is currently 100% clean. By December 2022 it will reach 50%,” he added.
To decarbonize its public transport offer, Nice is adopting a multi-energy strategy. With the goal of permanently phasing out diesel by the end of 2025, the metropolis intends to gradually convert all 450 buses in its fleet. While electric buses should eventually account for 50% of the fleet, Bio-NGV will account for 20%, that is, 90 units in total. The remaining 30% will run on hydrogen, since the metropolis has launched a tender to adapt twenty vehicles.
Likewise, beyond this first Barbotto Group station, the Régie Ligne d’Azur (RLA) is preparing to deploy a new facility in Drap, north of the metropolis, which will have two 2,000 Nm3/h compressors and a capacity of 4,640 liter storage (58 x 80 litres), 71 slow refueling points and 2 fast supply lines.
“The new station will be inaugurated at the beginning of 2023”, according to Olivier Astolfi, General Manager of RLA.
