A broad-based industry coalition of key hydrogen and fuel cell bus users and suppliers is launching an initiative to create a targeted, multi-year program to develop, deploy and commercialize clean, fuel cell and hydrogen-powered drive systems for transit. The initiative's goal is to drive down the costs and increase the durability of fuel cell systems and components through an industry-government partnership.
WestStart-CALSTART is coordinating the National Fuel Cell Bus Technology Initiative, envisioned as a six-year, $150-million dollar development effort to support the research, development and demonstration of fuel cell and hydrogen technology. The initiative is supported by an array of key industry leaders, including AC Transit, Ballard Power Systems, Boeing, the CEO Coalition to Advance Sustainable Technologies, ECD Ovonics, Hydrogenics, ISE Research, Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium, Quantum Technologies, Sunline Transit, Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems, Thor Industries and the Tri-Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon.
The initiative effort proposes to work to develop a six-year, $25-million per year program to address fuel cell and hydrogen vehicle technology commercialization challenges; focus on reducing technical and cost barriers for fuel cell and hydrogen use in the transit sector, including reliability, life-cycle, weight, volume, start-up time, etc.; and use transit demonstrations as "rolling classrooms" for fuel cell and hydrogen education.
