NHA News - Winter 2005

UTC Fuel Cells Power California Buses
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By Michael Tosca, Christopher Callahan, and Bryan Murach
UTC Fuel Cells

Municipal bus fleets offer a flexible and efficient public transport option in urban centers. UTC Fuel Cells has been providing fuel cell power systems for bus applications since 1998 in a variety of bus and fuel cell configurations. During 2002, a bus powered by a UTC Fuel Cells power plant became the first fuel cell hybrid bus to enter passenger service in California. The Thor/ISE Bus was developed by Thor Industries and ISE Corporation, and is powered by a 60-kilowatt UTC Fuel Cells PC36 power plant. In this application, the fuel cell power plant produces electricity for the electric motor that propels the bus and to charge battery packs. In service, the Thor/ISE bus demonstrated exceptional efficiency and emissions reductions.

Some of the key bus accomplishments supported by the Thor/ISE Bus using the UTC Fuel Cells PC36 fuel cell engine are:

1st fuel cell bus to operate in California in revenue service
7 to 9.6 miles per equivalent gallon of gasoline (conventional diesel bus is 4 to 5.5 miles per equivalent gallon of gasoline)
100-140 passengers per day
Extremely quiet ride
80+% availability rate
Very positive passenger response
Strong acceptance by operators
Operated reliably under the high temperatures of Palm Desert summer environment and rigorous, hilly, inner city roads of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland, California

Currently UTC Fuel Cells is developing the PureMotion^TM 120 Fuel Cell Power System. Rated at 120 kW, the PureMotion^TM 120 represents the next generation in efficient, quiet, and emission free fuel cell power for transportation applications. The PureMotion^TM 120 system is based on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology, and maximizes the benefits of fuel cells by employing a compact, near-ambient pressure, hydrogen fuel cell system. Near-ambient pressure technology delivers the highest level of fuel efficiency. The modular design is intended to maximize uptime and simplify routine maintenance. The PureMotion^TM 120 system is particularly well suited for integration into hybrid vehicle applications.

The PureMotion^TM 120 fuel cell power system offers higher output power than the previous generation of fleet fuel cell power plants, allowing greater flexibility for bus integrators. Projections estimate that the efficiency of the PureMotion^TM 120 Power System, when integrated into a hybrid transit bus, could offer more than a 100% improvement in fuel economy as compared with a traditional diesel engine powered bus. Four of PureMotion^TM 120 Power Systems are currently being integrated into transit buses for use in California.

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