HYBRID-ELECTRIC FUEL CELL BUS DEMONSTRATION

摘要

A Hybrid-Electric Fuel Cell Bus produced by ThunderPower (a joint venture between Thor Industries and the ISE Corporation) was delivered to SunLine Transit Agency on August 20, 2002. The basic ElDorado National EZ Rider II bus chassis was integrated to include a UTC Fuel Cells 60kW PEM fuel cell, an electric drive system by Siemens and ISE, compressed hydrogen tanks manufactured by Quantum, and lead acid batteries by Panasonic. Due to the bus's exceptional performance during an initial simulated operation phase, the bus was placed into revenue service on November 6, 2002, two weeks earlier than originally planned. This is the first fuel cell bus to enter revenue service in the state of California. Vehicle data, such as mileage, fuel consumption, ambient temperature, average speed, and driver and passenger comments have been collected since the bus started its first demonstration at SunLine Transit, its second demonstration at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA), and its third demonstration at AC Transit. The bus achieves an average of 7-10 miles per equivalent gallon of gasoline with a range of 200+ miles on a full 3600 psi hydrogen fill. The bus has completed more than fifteen months of operations and has accumulated over 15,000 miles. Demonstration of the bus was funded by Thor, ISE Research, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, WestStart-CALSTART, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and the US Department of Transportation.