DOE Hydrogen Program FY 2004 Progress Report

2005PDFTech ReportFuel cell vehiclesElectric vehiclesElectric busesFuel cell transit busesFuel cell busesSunLine Transit AgencyUnited StatesCaliforniaUnited States. Dept. of Energy. Hydrogen Fuel Cell & Infrastructure Technologies ProgramEudy, LeslieChandler, KevinNational Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.)Battelle Memorial InstituteUnited States. Dept. of Energy. Hydrogen Fuel Cell & Infrastructure Technologies ProgramUS Transportation CollectionBased on the results of this analysis and the response from the project partners, the SunLine demonstration was deemed to be a success. Although it was a prototype (or pre-commercial) vehicle, the ThunderPower bus operated in revenue service at a reliable level for most of the evaluation period. To summarize: The bus met or exceeded all goals set for the demonstration at SunLine. Availability for service was 71% for the six-month demonstration period. This availability level may have been higher with quicker response to some of the problems experienced. The bus ran for six months at SunLine with interruptions for some public relations activities, accumulating 8,800 miles and 655 fuel cell fuel power plant hours. The hybrid fuel cell bus operated in revenue service with an energy equivalent fuel economy 2.4 times higher than a similar CNG bus operating in the same service at SunLine. SunLine was pleased with the commitment and support provided by ISE Research and the project team which was and will continue to be essential for the successful demonstration of the fuel cell bus. There is a need to learn more about the reliability and durability of this type of propulsion system in transit buses. Longer-term demonstration is needed to understand how close the technology is to commercialization