Buses World News

FUEL CELL ELECTRIC BUSES * Europe

* European bus manufacturers and leading Mayors step up for

(Photo: Credo E-Bone concept bus utilizes fuel cell technology, li-ion batteries and lightweight composites)
Brussels,Belgium -Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, by Zeynep Musoglu -12 Nov 2014: -- European bus manufacturers and city representatives announce the commercialisation of fuel cell electric buses for urban transport in Brussels ... On the occasion of the FCH JU Stakeholder Forum, representatives of five major European bus manufacturers (Daimler Buses (EvoBus), MAN, Solaris, Van Hool and VDL Bus and Coach) have signed a joint Letter of Understanding at the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking's (FCH JU) Stakeholders Forum in Brussels. The Letter underlines the commitment of bus manufacturers towards the commercialisation and market introduction of fuel cell electric buses in urban public transport. Fuel cell buses run on hydrogen and constitute a zero emissions transport alternative...

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses, green buses, hydrogen buses

FUEL CELL BUSES / HYDROGEN FILLING STATIONS * WORLDWIDE

* Japan - Fuel-cell vehicles key to energy self-sufficiency

Tokyo,Japan -Busworld (Belgium)/The Nikkei Journal -29 March 2013: -- Trial runs at three new hydrogen filling stations will kick off this spring in Japan, contributing to speculation over whether fuel-cell vehicles will play a role in the nation's efforts to become self-sufficient in energy production ... JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corp. will open two of three new hydrogen filling stations for fuel-cell vehicles, including one in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture... JX Nippon runs about 40% of roughly 37,000 gas stations throughout Japan. With the two new trial stations, JX Nippon will operate five of 19 such facilities in Japan... Hydrogen can be made from liquefied natural gas and obtained via industrial processes such as the refining of petroleum and the production of steel. Oil refineries produce massive amounts of hydrogen to remove sulfur while producing gasoline and other petroleum products... As refineries reduce production, oil companies will no longer need to use hydrogen to remove sulfur from petroleum products. This will create a surplus supply of hydrogen, which can then be used to power fuel-cell vehicles...

* USA - California issues roadmap for fuelcell electric buses

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -8 April 2013: -- Fuel cell electric buses are quickly progressing towards commercialization. With more than 80 on the road around the world, FCEBs are approaching transit agency expectations for technical performance as well as availability and fuel cell durability. Targets for performance, cost and durability, however, were not established until recently... Two fuel cell electric bus programs are at this moment active in California at AC Transit (SF Bay area) and SunLine Transit (Coachella Valley). Burbank will also begin operating a fuel cell electric bus. The stations that fill these buses also provide fuel for hydrogen-powered passenger fuel cell electric vehicles...

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses, hydrogen stations

Fuel Cell-Powered * USA . Next-Generation Buses Introduced in Hartford

Advanced lithium-ion battery systems and a more durable fuel cell powerplant are key features of the new buses

South Windsor,CONN,USA -PRNewswire -Oct. 15,2010: -- Four next-generation fuel cell-powered hybrid-electric transit buses were introduced today in Hartford, joining an earlier generation bus that began service in 2007. The new buses will be operated by Connecticut Transit (CTTransit) and are equipped with UTC Power fuel cell systems... The new buses, part of the Federal Transit Administration's national Fuel Cell Bus Program, establish Hartford as a leader in adopting fuel cell technology to power transit buses. Only the Greater Oakland/San Francisco, Calif., area will have a larger fuel cell bus fleet in the United States, also equipped with UTC Power fuel cell systems... The new model 40-foot Van Hool transit buses are lighter than the earlier generation fuel cell bus, which rolled out in 2007 and continues to operate on various routes in Greater Hartford, including the free downtown Star Shuttle route. Advanced lithium-ion battery systems and a more durable fuel cell powerplant are key features of the new buses. The buses also will be instrumental in capturing real-time information, which will be used in developing more commercially viable fuel cells in the future... (Photo from t0.gstatic: A 40-foot Van Hool hybrid fuel cell bus)

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses, new buses fleet

PROJECT * USA -. To power fuel cell electric bus with hydrogen from Lake Erie

NASA Glenn working on

Cleveland,OH,USA -The Plain Dealer, by John Funk -February 13, 2009: -- The NASA Glenn Research Center, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), Great Lakes Science Center, and United Technologies Corp. (UT) are working to create a fuel cell-powered bus using hydrogen from lake water... Further, the equipment to separate the hydrogen out from the water would be powered by the science center's wind turbine and solar panel array... United Technologies' UT Power division would loan the fuel cell bus to the RTA for two years for use on a downtown route... The bus would be quieter than a diesel bus. Its only emission would be water vapor... Hartford, Conn., has been using a UT Power fuel cell bus since 2007... (Photo from The Plain Dealer/File - The canopy of 156 solar panels and nearby wind turbine at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland would be used to power an electrolyzer designed by NASA Glenn Research Center. The device would use the electricity to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen)

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses

Fuel Cell Bus Fleet * Canada - Program Advancing for Olympic Buses

VANCOUVER,BC,CAN -FOX BUSINESS -Dec 18, 2008: -- Ballard Power Systems today announced that the pre-production fuel cell bus, manufactured by the New Flyer Industries Canada ULC, ISE Corporation and Ballard consortium, successfully completed its field trial and Notice to Proceed has now been authorized for manufacture of 20 fuel cell buses for BC Transit's hydrogen fuel cell demonstration fleet... Ballard will begin delivery of its HD6 fuel cell bus modules in December 2008 with the remaining modules delivered through mid-2009. .. during the evaluation period, the pre-production bus operated up to 16 hours per day in Victoria and Whistler, and accumulated over 575 hours of on-road testing... The fuel cell buses have a driving range of approximately 450 kilometers along with an electrical efficiency of 57% at rated power, more than double the efficiency of an internal combustion engine...

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses

DEBATE * USA - Riding The Fuel Cell Bus

State Debates $200 Million Bet On UTC Industry

Hartford,CT,USA -The Hartford Courant, by MARK PETERS -March 12, 2008: -- Despite talk of tighter state budgets, a large fleet of million-dollar buses is a top priority for some legislators who want to raise Connecticut's bet on fuel cells as the technology of the future... The plan would amount to a $200 million buying spree for a homegrown industry — led by United Technologies Corp. — which, so far, has few customers worldwide... The legislators foresee a burgeoning "green-collar" workforce in the state, manufacturing a clean, futuristic substitute for traditional engines and power plants. For now the industry remains small, employing about 1,200 people in Connecticut... Buses with fuel cells made by South Windsor-based UTC Power are expected to cost three times the typical $350,000 price for conventional buses... In a classic standoff that plagues many new technologies, the cost is high because the industry hasn't seen the benefits of mass production — and that, in turn, keeps sales down for the hydrogen-based power... Legislators predicted that, despite Tuesday's vote in the energy committee, the broad support for fuel cell technology at the Capitol would keep a lively debate going for weeks...

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses

Fuel Cell Buses * USA - A Tale Of Two Transit Agencies

In the San Francisco Bay Area, two public transit agencies are conducting trials with "Zero Emission Buses", or ZEBs

San Francisco,CAL,USA -PLANetizen: Front Page, by Irvin Dawid -3 March 2008: -- ... They are using different types of hydrogen fuel cell technologies, with very different results... Current trials are producing mixed results... A new report from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency has shown that the fuel cell buses are extremely costly to operate. Consequently, VTA wants to drop the hydrogen trial and purchase diesel-hybrid buses... Meanwhile, results from across the Bay at AC Transit have shown a vastly different outcome, presumably because a different type of fuel cell technology was used... They "operated hydrogen-hybrid buses for two years, ones that also use electrical batteries to help cut hydrogen fuel costs and provide a smoother ride and easier acceleration and braking, much like in hybrid cars. Officials at the agency are sold on the program"...

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses

Fuel Cell Modules * USA - Ballard to be Exclusive Supplier for New Flyer Shuttle Buses

USA -CNNMoney.com -February 12, 2008: -- Ballard Power Systems, has signed a five-year agreement with New Flyer Industries Inc., to supply fuel cell modules for use in New Flyer shuttle buses... As part of this agreement, the companies will also combine efforts toward the joint preparation of bids for transit agency shuttle bus programs, with an initial focus on publicly-funded programs in Canada... Shuttle buses are smaller and lighter than full-size buses - typically less than thirty-two feet in length - and are intended for use in a range of growing applications, such as community feeder routes, where their reduced noise profile and emission-free operation is highly valued... (Video fromYouTube, by ttc2353 -February 04, 2008: "TTC New Flyer D40-89 6440" A ride on a TTC shuttle bus 6440 between Warden Stn to Kennedy Stn. This is due to a subway train derailed overnight. The D40-89's are very rare in Scarborough. They are mostly found in the west-end city routes)

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses

* Canada - Ballard-Powered Buses on British Columbia Roads in 2009

BC,Canada -CNN Money (USA) -August 03, 2007: -- Ballard Power Systems today announced that BC Transit has selected Ballard® fuel cells to power up to 20 fuel cell buses in a fleet that will roll onto British Columbia roads by the end of 2009... The buses are intended to be showcased in the Resort Municipality of Whistler during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and then be integrated into the BC Transit fleet. BC Transit is to purchase the buses, with assistance from the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada... (Picture by: env.gov.bc.ca - BC Transit Hybrid Bus)

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses

Fuel Cell Buses * USA - AC Transit's: Preliminary Evaluation Results

USA -Fuel Cell Works (press release - USA)/NREL -7 March 2007: -- The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has recently published a preliminary report on its evaluation of fuel cell buses in service at AC Transit in Oakland, California. The report includes 8 months of performance data on three fuel cell buses in service. Data on diesel buses are provided as a baseline. The 40-ft Van Hool fuel cell buses feature an electric hybrid drive system by ISE Corporation with UTC Power's PureMotionTM 120 Fuel Cell Power System and ZEBRA batteries for energy storage... NREL's Technology Validation team evaluates fuel cell buses for the Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program within the U.S. Department of Energy...

Labels: Fuel Cell Buses