After pioneering hydrogen bus in Hong Kong, Citybus owners eye Middle East transport market
- Wisdom Motor is in talks with Abu Dhabi’s transport department to supply customised hydrogen-powered vehicles
- Wisdom’s majority owner, Templewater, is looking to form a consortium supplying low-carbon transport to the Middle East, CEO says
The owners of Hong Kong bus operator Citybus have set their sights on supplying hydrogen buses to the Middle East after launching the city’s first zero-emission bus.
Wisdom Motor, majority owned by private-equity firm Templewater, has been in talks with the transport department of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to supply customised hydrogen-powered vehicles, said Cliff Zhang, the CEO and founding partner of Templewater.
“We also want to bring in other partners who are not necessarily our portfolio companies,” said Zhang. “Together as a consortium, we can provide a [low-carbon transport] solution to the Middle East.”
David An, chairman of Hong Kong-listed energy storage and trading firm Hans Energy, the impending new majority shareholder of Citybus, said Hans would collaborate with Templewater, Wisdom and other partners to bring hydrogen buses to other markets, especially the Middle East where abundant solar energy would make mass production of green hydrogen viable.
Wisdom, which is majority owned by Templewater, has a bus manufacturing plant spanning 480,000 square metres in China’s eastern Fujian province.
