Coalition of Industry Leaders Launches National Fuel Cell Bus Initiative

LONG BEACH, Calif.--Nov. 1, 20037, 2003--

Transit Offers Best Early Market for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Multi-Year Effort to Develop, Deploy and Commercialize Newest Technologies in Transit Bus Applications

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 (NFCBTI), envisioned as a 6-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, Boeing, the CEO Coalition to Advance Sustainable Technologies, ECD Ovonics, Hydrogenics, ISE Research, Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium (NAVC), Quantum Technologies, Sunline Transit, Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems, Thor Industries and the Tri-Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet).

"For the transportation market, the best way to introduce new fuels is in transit," said John Boesel, president & CEO of WestStart-CALSTART. "With transit buses, you build one hydrogen station and then you've addressed the question of 'where do I refill.' That allows the critical early stage research and development dollars to be focused on the issues of cost, durability, and reliability. It's clear to our coalition that focusing work on reliability and cost reduction in buses will speed and support efforts for all fuel cell work and will keep pace with the efforts of global competitors."

The initiative effort proposes the following:

-- Work to develop a 6-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.

-- Use transit demonstrations as "rolling classrooms" for fuel cell and hydrogen education

Fuel cells are still far from ready for transportation use. Most successful fuel cells to date have been larger units used in stationary applications. Their size makes scaling them to a bus' requirements an easier near-term step from a functional and economic standpoint. Buses have fewer packaging and weight constraints, are serviced by well trained mechanics, operate on fixed routes, and utilize centralized refueling stations.

"The transit industry has already shown the nation that it's a leader in terms of the introduction of alternative fuels. Over 25 percent of all new transit buses sold today are powered by alternative fuels. If the rest of the transportation sector followed transit's lead, we could cut the nation's dependence on OPEC oil in half," Boesel said.

The NFCBTI is seeking funding via the reauthorization of the federal transportation bill. The reauthorization bill, presently known as TEA-21, determines how gas tax revenues are spent over a six-year period. WestStart-CALSTART and its partners are proposing that an existing program be modified to include a focus on fuel cell and hydrogen bus technology development. Such a redirection would keep the U.S. competitive with efforts already underway globally, including a major European government funded program already deploying 30 hydrogen-fueled buses.

WestStart-CALSTART is North America's leading advanced transportation technologies consortium. It is a fuel neutral, participant-supported organization of more than 120 companies and agencies, dedicated to expanding and supporting a high-tech transportation industry that cleans the air, creates jobs and improves energy efficiency. WestStart-CALSTART is actively involved in helping companies develop and deploy clean and efficient drive systems for transit and heavy duty vehicles. Its California operating division does business as CALSTART. Visit www.weststart.org for more information.