Zero-Emission Fuel Cell Electric Bus Service Begins in Orange County, California
Orange, CA-May 2016
The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) celebrated with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) the start of service of a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric bus in Orange County, California. The bus will be deployed in passenger service on routes serving the California Angels baseball stadium and the Orange County Fair this summer. OCTA is fueling the bus at a hydrogen station in Irvine, California, which is owned and operated by the University of California, Irvine.In 2013, CTE was awarded funding through the Federal Transit Administration's National Fuel Cell Bus Program to build and test an American Fuel Cell Bus. Project partners include ElDorado National, BAE Systems, and Ballard Power Systems. CTE chose OCTA to operate the bus due to the agency's great interest in zero emission technology and its commitment to lowering fleet emissions. Dan Raudebaugh, CTE's Executive Director, said, "CTE is very impressed with OCTA and with their commitment to deploy this zero-emission fuel cell electric bus. This project supports furthering fuel cell technology, bolstering public acceptance, and understanding the challenges and benefits of using this technology in transit fleet operations."
OCTA will demonstrate the fuel cell electric bus in revenue service for two years. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will collect data and evaluate the performance of the OCTA bus throughout the two-year demonstration period. The OCTA fuel cell electric bus will be incorporated in NREL's annual evaluation of the national fuel cell electric bus fleet.OCTA is the recipient of the sixth American Fuel Cell Bus delivered to transit agencies in California. The 40-ft American Fuel Cell Bus was built on an ElDorado National Axess chassis with BAE Systems HybriDrive® propulsion and power management system, and a Ballard Power Systems FCveloCity® fuel cell module that provides primary power. The bus was manufactured 38 miles away from OCTA at ElDorado National's facility in Riverside, California.
