Two new hydrogen-fuelled buses will soon start shuttling passengers around Charlottetown.

A hydrogen bus pulls up to the new fuelling station in Charlottetown.
(CBC)

The buses, part of a Canada-wide pilot project, were announced Friday by representatives of the federal and provincial governments. The Ford vehicles will carry 12 passengers each and run on a hydrogen combustion engine, producing no hydrocarbon waste or greenhouse gases.

Premier Robert Ghiz said eventually Prince Edward Island hopes to develop its own hydrogen sources through its wind farms.

"We're working on the hydrogen village in the West Prince area, to help complement our wind power," Ghiz said.

"The technology is fairly new. Right now across Canada there is probably only about 10 of these hydrogen buses, but you have to start somewhere."

Details on just how often the buses will be running have not yet been worked out, but the intention is for them to be part of the city's regular transit system. This experimental line of buses can take several hours to fuel up, and the hydrogen fuel is currently twice as expensive as gasoline.

The federal government is investing $275,000 for the buses, with the province chipping in $100,000. Air Liquide Canada, which is providing the hydrogen for the vehicles, is contributing $175,000 toward the year-long pilot project.

A temporary hydrogen fuelling station has been installed at the provincial government garage.