A Report on Worldwide Hydrogen Bus Demonstrations, 2002-2007
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A Report on Worldwide Hydrogen Bus Demonstrations, 2002-2007 March, 2009 Report No. FTA-GA-04-7001-2009.01 http://www.fta.dot.gov/research A Report on Worldwide Hydrogen Bus Demonstrations, 2002-2007 March, 2009 Prepared by: Center for Transportation and the Environment 730 Peachtree Street Suite 330 Atlanta, GA 30308 Breakthrough Technologies Institute 1100 H Street, NW Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 Prepared for: Federal Transit Administration Office of Research, Demonstration and Innovation U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Report No. FTA-GA-04-7001-2009.01 Available Online: [http://www.fta.dot.gov/research] ii REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 1. AGENCY USE ONLY 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED (Leave blank) March, 2009 Final Report March, 2009 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE A Report on Hydrogen Bus 5. FUNDING/GRANT NUMBER Demonstrations Worldwide, 2002-2007 GA-04-7001-00 6. AUTHOR(S) Curtin, Sandra E., Jerram, Lisa C., Justice, Lauren C. 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT ADDRESS(ES) NUMBER CTE BTI FTA-GA-04-7001-2009.01 730 Peachtree St. 1100 H Street, NW Suite 330 Suite 800 Atlanta, GA 30308 Washington, D.C. 20005 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND 10. SPONSORING/ MONITORING ADDRESS(ES) AGENCY REPORT NUMBER Federal Transit Administration U.S. Department of Transportation FTA-GA-04-7001-2009.01 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 [http://www.fta.dot.gov/research] 11. SUPPLEMNTARY NOTES 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Available From: National Technical Information Service TRI-30 (NTIS), Springfield, VA 22161. Phone 703.605.6000, Fax 703.605.6900, Email [[email protected]] 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) Between 2002 and 2007 more than 20 cities in the United States, Europe, China, Japan and Australia have demonstrated buses powered by fuel cells or hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines, as well as a variety of fueling and related technologies. The project team used a method of in-depth targeted interviews to gather insight from key participants in these hydrogen bus demonstration projects. The resulting report analyzes lessons learned from the demonstrations, identifies key remaining challenges for introduction of the technology, and suggests potential roles for government in supporting commercialization of fuel cell buses. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES hydrogen bus demonstration, fuel cell, rider survey 57 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION ABSTRACT REPORT THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified iii Foreword Since 2002, hydrogen-powered buses have been deployed in transit fleets of more than 20 cities around the world. These demonstrations represent a major investment in moving fuel cell and hydrogen transit technologies toward commercialization. This report summarizes interviews with demonstration participants in North America, Europe, Japan, China and Australia. Interview participants include bus and fuel cell manufacturers, infrastructure suppliers, transit agencies and technology integrators. The report also draws upon technical reviews that have been published about the demonstrations. Among other things, the report examines the performance and reliability of bus and refueling technologies, describes experiences in the design and permitting of maintenance facilities, and offers recommendations to help move hydrogen buses toward mainstream viability. Transit agencies and other demonstration participants generally had positive experiences with hydrogen-powered buses and expressed a strong desire to continue advancing the technology. This report will be of interest to transit agencies, bus and drivetrain manufacturers, policymakers, and others interested in low and zero-emission mobility options. Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the United States Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products of manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in the document only because they are essential to the objective of this report. iv Table of Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................... iv Notice .......................................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. viii Summary...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Key Issues and Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................... 4 Fuel cells and batteries .............................................................................................................................. 5 Infrastructure ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Vehicle integration .................................................................................................................................. 10 Vehicle operation .................................................................................................................................... 11 Maintenance ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Safety ...................................................................................................................................................... 14 Education ................................................................................................................................................ 15 Public acceptance .................................................................................................................................... 16 Rider response ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Management and partners ....................................................................................................................... 22 The role of HICE buses ........................................................................................................................... 22 The next phase of hydrogen bus demonstrations .................................................................................... 23 Key challenges to commercialization revealed by the demonstrations ................................................ 25 Role of government in accelerating commercialization ......................................................................... 27 Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................................................................. 29 References .................................................................................................................................................. 30 Appendix 1. Background on Interviewed Demonstration Sites and Project Partners ....................... 33 North American Transit Agencies .......................................................................................................... 33 AC Transit ........................................................................................................................................... 33 SunLine Transit Agency ..................................................................................................................... 34 CTTRANSIT ....................................................................................................................................... 35 BC Transit ........................................................................................................................................... 35 International projects ............................................................................................................................... 36 CUTE .................................................................................................................................................. 36 ECTOS ...............................................................................................................................................