The Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies (HCATT) has awarded a contract to US Hybrid to deliver a plug-in fuel cell shuttle bus to the County of Hawaii Mass Transit Agency.

US Hybrid’s H2Ride 25-passenger shuttle bus uses a 30 kW fuel cell fueled by a 20 kg hydrogen storage and delivery system. The fuel cell and 28 kWh lithium-ion battery power the vehicle’s 200 kW powertrain, air conditioning, and auxiliary systems. Onboard batteries are recharged by regenerative braking and grid power. Similar shuttle buses are already in operation at the Air Force’s Pearl Harbor-Hickam base and at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The new H2Ride bus is scheduled for deployment with Hawaii MTA in early 2015.

Image courtesy of  US Hybrid, presented at SAE 2014 Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies Symposium.

Governor Neil Abercrombie commented, “I am proud of the state’s leadership role in providing the funding to introduce the first hydrogen fuel cell electric bus in support of public transportation in Hawaii. My vision is to leverage opportunities like this to introduce clean energy transportation services that utilize our own renewable energy resources to the benefit of our local economy, while helping the people of Hawaii get where they need to go.”

Hawaii Island Mayor Billy Kenoi added, “This new fuel cell electric bus is the first tangible step in realizing our vision of transforming the County of Hawaii public bus system into one that is powered by our island’s incredible renewable energy resources.  Instead of exporting our citizen’s hard-earned dollars offshore, we will be able to keep this money in our local economy creating new jobs and protecting us from the swings of the fossil fuel markets.”

HCATT Director Stan Osserman said, “This project demonstrates that Hawaii takes its role in leading the US in clean transportation technology very seriously. We’ve already established ourselves as industry leaders with Department of Defense projects related to alternative fuel vehicles, and we are moving forward to make our counties and the state leaders in hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.”

Founded in 1999, US Hybrid Corporation specializes in the design and manufacture of integrated power conversion components for fuel cell, electric, and hybrid vehicles. In January, US Hybrid executed a licensing agreement with United Technologies Corporation (UTC) to commercialize UTC’s Proton Exchange Membrane  fuel cell technologies. US Hybrid has been a supplier of balance-of-plant components such as cathode air blowers, DI pumps and power converters to UTC and other fuel cell suppliers for over a decade.

Source:  US Hybrid, Green Car Congress