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Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Evaluations

Transit buses are one of the best early transportation applications for fuel cell technology. Buses operate in congested areas where pollution is already a problem. And they are centrally located and fueled, highly visible, and subsidized by government. By evaluating the experiences of these early adopters, NREL can determine the status of bus fuel cell systems and establish lessons learned to aid other fleets in implementing the next generation of these systems.

Fuel Cell Bus Projects

Both DOE and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) fund NREL's hydrogen and fuel cell evaluations. A joint plan (PDF 425 KB) describes these evaluations, and the table below summarizes both current and planned DOE-and FTA-funded projects.

Text version of table of current and planned fuel cell bus evaluation projects by site name and location, project period, and finding source. AC Transit in Oakland, California; project is HyRoad; project period is third and fourth quarters of 2007, evaluation funded by DOE technical validation. AC Transit /Oakland, California; project is AC Transit CA ZEB; project period is first quarter 2009 through fourth quarter 2010; evaluation funded by DOE technical validation. SunLine /Thousand Palms, California; project is FCB/HHICE; project period is third and fourth quarters 2007; evaluation funded by DOE technical validation. SunLine /Thousand Palms, California; project is FCB Ext. Service; project period is first through fourth quarters 2008 and first quarter 2009; evaluation funded by DOE technical validation. SunLine /Thousand Palms, California; project is Advanced FCB Project; project period is first through fourth quarters 2009 and first through fourth quarters 2010; evaluation funded by DOE technical validation. CTTRANSIT /Hartford, Connecticut; project is CT Transit FCB Demo; project period is third and fourth quarters 2007, first through fourth quarters 2008 and first quarter 2009; evaluation funded by DOE technical validation. Hickam AFB/Honolulu, Hawaii; project is Air Force FCV Demo; project period is third and fourth quarters 2007 and first through fourth quarters 2008; evaluation funded by DOE technical validation. VTA/San Jose, California; project is VTA CA ZEB 2009; project period is first through fourth quarters 2009 and first through fourth quarters 2010; evaluation funded by DOE technical validation. AC Transit/Oakland, California; project is Accelerated Testing; project period is fourth quarter 2007 and first through fourth quarters 2008; evaluation funded by FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program. SunLine/Thousand Palm, California; project is American FCB Demo; project period is fourth quarter 2008, first through fourth quarters 2009, and first through fourth quarters 2010; evaluation funded by FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program. CT TRANSIT/Hartford, Connecticut; project is CT Hybrid FCB Demo; project period is fourth quarter 2008, first through fourth quarters 2009, and first through fourth quarters 2010; evaluation funded by FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program. Columbia, South Carolina/Site 2, location to be determined/CT Transit, Connecticut; project is Dual Variable Output Hybrid FCB; project period for evaluations at three sites will run from third quarter 2008 fourth quarter 2010; evaluation funded by FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program. Logan Airport/Boston, Massachusetts; project is MA H2 FCB Fleet; project period is third and fourth quarters 2009 and first through fourth quarters 2010; evaluation funded by FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program. Site TBD/ New York, New York; project is Lightweight FCB Demo; project period is first through fourth quarters 2009 and first through fourth quarters 2010; funded by FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program. Site is to be determined/New York, New York; project is Hydroelectric H2 Powered FCB; project period is second through fourth quarters 2009 and first through fourth quarters 2010; evaluation funded by FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program. SFMTA/San Francisco, California; project is FC APU Hybrid; project period is first through fourth quarters 2010; evaluation funded by FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program.

 

U.S. Fuel Cell Bus Projects

A summary of current and planned U.S. fuel cell bus projects are provided in an Excel spreadsheet (Excel 26 KB).

Presentations and Publications

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

2008

  • Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report (PDF 733 KB) K. Chandler and L. Eudy. (July 2008)
  • Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report—Appendices (PDF 982 KB) K. Chandler and L. Eudy. (July 2008)
  • SunLine Transit Agency Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report (PDF 901 KB) (June 2008)
  • SunLine Transit Agency Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report—Appendices (PDF 1.7 MB) (June 2008)
  • SunLine Begins Extended Testing of Hybrid Fuel Cell Bus. DOE Hydrogen Program (Fact Sheet) (PDF 743 KB)
  • Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Transit Bus Evaluations: Joint Evaluation Plan for the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Transit Administration. (PDF 425 KB) (May 2008)
  • Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Transit Bus Evaluations: Joint Evaluation Plan for the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Transit Administration; Appendix A: Summary of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Transit Bus Demonstration Sites in the U.S. (PDF 662 KB) (May 2008)
  • Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation Results (Presentation) (PDF 1.3 MB). Presented at TRB 87th Annual Meeting. L. Eudy. (January 2008)
  • CTTRANSIT Operates New England's First Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus (PDF 931 KB). DOE Hydrogen Program. (February 2008)

2007

  • Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Evaluation Results Update (PDF 2 MB). K. Chandler, L. Eudy. (October 2007)
  • Hickam Air Force Base Fuel Cell Vehicles: Early Implementation Experience (PDF 1.8 MB). L. Eudy, K. Chandler. (October 2007)
  • Heavy-Duty Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicle Projects: Transit Buses (Excel 142 KB), L. Eudy. (September 2007)
  • SunLine Transit Agency, Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Evaluation Results Update (PDF 1 MB), K. Chandler, L. Eudy. (September 2007)
  • Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Summary of Experiences and Current Status (PDF 814 KB), L. Eudy, K. Chandler, C. Gikakis. (September 2007)
  • Technology Validation: Fuel Cell Bus Evaluations (PDF 1 MB), L. Eudy. Presentation prepared for the 2007 DOE Hydrogen Program Merit Review, Arlington, Va. (May 2007)
  • Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District—Fuel Cell Buses: Preliminary Evaluation Results (PDF 1.37 MB), K. Chandler, L. Eudy. (February 2007)
  • SunLine Transit Agency, Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Preliminary Evaluation Results (PDF 1.38 MB), K. Chandler, L. Eudy. (February 2007)

2006

  • Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and San Mateo County Transit District—Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Evaluation Results (PDF 1.88 MB), K. Chandler, L. Eudy. (November 2006)
  • SunLine Tests HHICE Bus in Desert Climate (PDF 395 KB), L. Eudy. (October 2006)
  • AC Transit Demos Three Prototype Fuel Cell Buses (PDF 540 KB), L. Eudy. (May 2006)
  • SunLine Expands Horizons with Fuel Cell Bus Demo (PDF 562 KB), L. Eudy. (May 2006)
  • VTA Prototype Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation: Interim Results (PDF 413 KB), L. Eudy. Presentation prepared for the APTA Bus and Paratransit Conference, Anaheim, California. (May 2006)
  • Heavy-Duty Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicle Projects: Transit Buses, Trucks, and Vans (Excel 123 KB), L. Eudy. (April 2006)
  • Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and San Mateo County Transit District, Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Preliminary Evaluation Results (PDF 1.04 MB), K. Chandler, L. Eudy. (March 2006)

2005

  • Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Projects: VTA, SamTrans Look into Future with Bus Demo (PDF 506 KB), L. Eudy. (September 2005)

2004

  • DOE Hydrogen Program FY 2004 Progress Report, V.C.3 Technology Validation: Fuel Cell Bus Evaluations (PDF 336 KB), L. Eudy. (November 2004)
  • Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Projects: Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus Lands at Hickam AFB (PDF 446 KB), L. Eudy. (September 2004)

2003

  • ThunderPower Bus Evaluation at SunLine Transit Agency (PDF 1.27 MB), K. Chandler, L. Eudy. (November 2003)
  • Fuel Cell Transit Bus Coordination and Evaluation Plan (PDF 470 KB), L. Eudy et al. (October 2003)
  • SunLine Test Drives Hydrogen (ThunderPower) Bus (PDF 261 KB), L. Eudy. (August 2003)

2002

  • Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicle Evaluation (PDF 173 KB), R. Parish et al. (May 2002)

2001

  • Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation: Report for the Annual Hydrogen Program Review (PDF 681 KB), L. Eudy, R. Parish, J. Leonard. (May 2001)

Contact: Leslie Eudy (303) 275-4412

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Content Last Updated: August 08, 2008