The paper explores the various aspects linked to the development of local public transport on hydrogen road, referring to what is already in place in the city of Bolzano, the most significant experience at a national level, and considering the provincial territory for considerations on extra-urban service.

First, a cost assessment was conducted for a fuel cell powered bus, compared to possible power alternatives and purchase price, in the business-as-usual scenario.

To carry out the comparison, the standard cost methodology was used, appropriately perfected, also assuming the hypothesis of a possible future assimilation of hydrogen production companies for public transport use to highly energy-intensive companies (commonly called “energy-intensive”, with a reduction in system costs of approximately 80%).

At present, the potential opportunities offered by the industrial and energy market, even in combination, appear to be able to significantly reduce the cost of supplying the electricity necessary to produce “green hydrogen”, but not to make the TCO associated with a vehicle a fuel cell comparable to that of a battery-powered vehicle.