U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Fuel Cell Technologies Office – Technology Validation

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation for California Transit Agencies

In February 2000, the California Air Resources Board approved regulations to reduce emissions from transit buses in California. Because of this ruling, several transit agencies in the state began developing programs to demonstrate zero-emission buses, specifically fuel cell buses.

DOE is conducting an evaluation of these buses in revenue service. The results will be extremely important in understanding the state of the technology and the work that still needs to be done. This information will also be helpful in estimating what the future technology and costs of operation may be based on the experiences of these operations and expected advances in the systems integration and developments.

Data collected from the bus demonstrations will be used to:

• Develop and document the procedures for evaluating fuel cell buses
• Perform baseline performance testing of fuel cell buses and document the results
• Evaluate the buses' performance, emissions, costs, and operating characteristics
• Define and document infrastructure and facility modifications required to add hydrogen fueling and bus maintenance to the transit sites.

The evaluation involves three primary sites in California. The transit partners' responsibilities include procurement, operation, and maintenance of the buses; installation, operation, and maintenance of hydrogen fueling infrastructure; modification of facilities to allow for safe maintenance of the buses; and transmission of data to evaluation partners. The three sites are:

• AC Transit
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
• SunLine Transit Agency

NREL is also evaluating fuel cell buses in other areas of the U.S. Current projects include:

• Hickam Air Force Base

Publications related to these evaluations will be posted below as the projects progress.

For more information on these DOE evaluations, contact Leslie Eudy at 303-275-4412.

Related Publications

2010

• Fuel Cell Bus Takes a Starring Role in the BurbankBus Fleet (Fact Sheet), May 2010
• Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) Fuel Cell Transit Bus: Third Evaluation Report, January 2010
• Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) Fuel Cell Transit Bus: Third Evaluation Report—Appendices, January 2010

2009

• Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2009, October 2009
• Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) Fuel Cell Transit Bus: Second Evaluation Report, May 2009
• Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) Fuel Cell Transit Bus: Second Evaluation Report—Appendices, May 2009
• SunLine Transit Agency Fuel Cell Transit Bus: Fourth Evaluation Report, January 2009
• SunLine Transit Agency Fuel Cell Transit Bus: Fourth Evaluation Report—Appendices, January 2009

2008

• Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2008, December 2008
• Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) Fuel Cell Transit Bus: Preliminary Evaluation Results, October 2008
• Hydrogen Fuel Cell Engines and Related Technologies Course Manual
• Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report, July 2008
• Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report—Appendices, July 2008
• SunLine Transit Agency Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report, June 2008
• SunLine Transit Agency Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report—Appendices, June 2008
• SunLine Begins Extended Testing of Hybrid Fuel Cell Bus. DOE Hydrogen Program (Fact Sheet), June 2008
• Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Transit Bus Evaluations: Joint Evaluation Plan for the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Transit Administration, 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., May 2008
• CTTRANSIT Operates New England's First Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus. DOE Hydrogen Program, February 2008
• Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation Results (Presentation). Presented at TRB 87th Annual Meeting, January 2008

2007

• Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Evaluation Results Update, October 2007
• Hickam Air Force Base Fuel Cell Vehicles: Early Implementation Experience, October 2007
• Heavy-Duty Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicle Projects: Transit Buses, September 2007
• SunLine Transit Agency, Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Evaluation Results Update, September 2007
• Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Summary of Experiences and Current Status, September 2007
• Technology Validation: Fuel Cell Bus Evaluations. 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, February 2007
• SunLine Transit Agency, Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Preliminary Evaluation Results, February 2007

2006

• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and San Mateo County Transit District—Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Evaluation Results, November 2006
• SunLine Tests HHICE Bus in Desert Climate, October 2006
• AC Transit Demos Three Prototype Fuel Cell Buses, May 2006
• SunLine Expands Horizons with Fuel Cell Bus Demo, May 2006
• VTA Prototype Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation: Interim Results, May 2006
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and San Mateo County Transit District, Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Preliminary Evaluation Results, March 2006

2005

• Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Projects: VTA, SamTrans Look into Future with Bus Demo, September 2005

2004

• Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Projects: Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus Lands at Hickam AFB, September 2004

2003

• ThunderPower Bus Evaluation at SunLine Transit Agency, November 2003
• Fuel Cell Transit Bus Coordination and Evaluation Plan, October 2003
• SunLine Test Drives Hydrogen (ThunderPower) Bus, August 2003

2002

• Fuel Cells for the Transportation Industry: Developing a Credible Demonstration Program on the Path to Commercialization, April 2002

2001

• Final Report on the Federal Transit Administration, SunLine Transit Agency Cooperative Agreement (Ballard P4 Fuel Cell Bus)
  • Project Summary, September 2001
• Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation: Report for the Annual Hydrogen Program Review, May 2001