Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program Fuel Cell Transit Buses ThunderPower Bus Evaluation at SunLine Transit Agency A Strong Energy Portfolio for a Strong America Energy effi ciency and clean, renewable energy will mean a stronger economy, a cleaner en- vironment, and greater energy independence for America. By investing in technology break- throughs today, our nation can look forward to a more resilient economy and secure future. Far-reaching technology changes will be essential to America’s energy future. Working with a wide array of state, community, industry, and university partners, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Offi ce of Energy Effi ciency and Renewable Energy invests in a portfolio of energy technologies that will: • Conserve energy in the residential, commercial, industrial, government, and transportation sectors • Increase and diversify energy supply, with a focus on renewable domestic sources • Upgrade our national energy infrastructure • Facilitate the emergence of hydrogen technologies as vital new “energy carriers.” The Opportunities Biomass Program Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Using domestic, plant-derived resources to Technologies Program meet our fuel, power, and chemical needs Paving the way toward a hydrogen econo- my and net-zero carbon energy future Building Technologies Program Homes, schools, and businesses that Industrial Technologies Program use less energy, cost less to operate, and Boosting the productivity and competi- ultimately, generate as much power as tiveness of U.S. industry through im- they use provements in energy and environmental performance Distributed Energy & Electric Reliability Program Solar Energy Technology Program A more reliable energy infrastructure and Utilizing the sun’s natural energy to reduced need for new power plants generate electricity and provide water and space heating Federal Energy Management Program Leading by example, saving energy and Weatherization & Intergovernmental taxpayer dollars in federal facilities Program Accelerating the use of today’s best en- FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies ergy-effi cient and renewable technologies Program in homes, communities, and businesses Less dependence on foreign oil, and eventual transition to an emissions-free, Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program petroleum-free vehicle Harnessing America’s abundant natural resources for clean power generation Geothermal Technologies Program Tapping the Earth’s energy to meet our heat and power needs To learn more, visit www.eere.energy.gov. ThunderPower Bus Evaluation at SunLine Transit Agency A U.S. Department of Energy Transit Bus Evaluation Project by Kevin Chandler, Battelle Leslie Eudy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory November 2003 The authors wish to acknowledge the help and cooperation of the staff at the host site, particularly Bill Clapper and Tommy Edwards. Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program Web site: www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/ Fuel Cell Transit Buses Table of Contents Introduction . 1 Evaluation Programs at DOE and NREL . 1 Evaluation Strategy and Objectives . 2 Project Description . 4 Host Site: SunLine Transit Agency . 6 Project Start-Up at SunLine. 7 Fuel Cell Bus Use. 8 Fuel Consumption and Economy. 10 Maintenance . 10 Emissions . 11 Summary and Conclusion . 11 Plans for the ThunderPower Bus . 12 Other Evaluations from DOE and NREL. 12 Contacts . 13 References and Related Reports . 13 Appendix A - ThunderPower Fuel Cell Bus . 14 Appendix B - Fuel Cells and Hydrogen . 15 Appendix C - Calculating Energy Equivalent Gallon Fuel Economy for Hydrogen . 16 iv Fuel Cell Transit Buses Introduction This report provides an overview of the ThunderPower fuel cell bus demonstration at SunLine Transit Agency in Thousand Palms, California. Under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) evaluated the bus while it was at SunLine for six months in late 2002 and early 2003. Thor Industries and ISE Research developed and manufactured the 30-foot ThunderPower bus (an ElDorado coach). It uses a com- pressed hydrogen proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power plant developed by UTC Fuel Cells. Evaluation Programs The ThunderPower bus is one of a few fuel cell buses in the United at DOE and NREL States, and its use is a prelude to an upcoming demonstration program NREL evaluated the ThunderPower in California that will include seven fuel cell bus in support of DOE’s more full-sized fuel cell buses. AC Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastruc- Transit, Santa Clara Valley Trans- ture Technologies (HFC&IT) Pro- portation Authority, and SunLine gram, which integrates activities in will participate in that program. hydrogen production, storage, and delivery with transportation and Designed and developed in 2001, stationary fuel cell applications. The the ThunderPower bus started goals of the HFC&IT Program are to: service at SunLine in mid-2002. • Overcome technical barriers SunLine was chosen as the fi rst dem- through research and onstration site because of its desert development of hydrogen climate and its experience with fuel production, delivery, and storage cell buses and hydrogen production technologies, as well as fuel cell and dispensing capabilities. technologies for transportation, distributed stationary power, and This report describes the operation portable power applications. of the ThunderPower fuel cell bus during its six months of operation • Address safety concerns and at SunLine, including an evaluation develop model codes and of the bus’s performance during standards. three months of revenue service. • Validate and demonstrate It also includes a description of the hydrogen and fuel cell hydrogen production operations technologies under real-world at SunLine. conditions. 1 Fuel Cell Transit Buses • Educate key stakeholders whose complete further testing and acceptance of these technologies operation. Chula Vista is located will determine their success in just south of San Diego and is the marketplace. near ISE Research’s home offi ces. The objective of DOE/NREL evalu- NREL’s objective was to review ation projects is to provide com- the demonstration of the prototype prehensive, unbiased reviews ThunderPower bus to provide use- of currently available advanced ful background and operational in- technology and alternative fuel ve- formation to those interested in the hicles. This objective is customized successful introduction of fuel cells for each evaluation site based on into transit service. Throughout the status of vehicle technology this document accomplishments development and the site’s expecta- and lessons learned from this proj- tions of these vehicles. Operators ect will be discussed. considering the use of these vehi- cles constitute the primary audi- NREL collected data on the op- ence for this information. eration, maintenance, and perfor- mance of the ThunderPower bus Evaluation Strategy and while in operation at SunLine. These data include fuel (hydrogen) Objectives fi lls, vehicle use (availability for service, route assigned, miles per The objective of the Thunder- day), and maintenance activities, Power bus demonstration was to such as warranty repairs. verify that a fuel cell bus could be developed, integrated, and operated The ThunderPower bus demon- safely in service with comparable or stration lasted six months—not better performance than a standard enough time to study reliability transit bus of the same size in the and durability in-depth. The bus same service. ThunderPower, LLC, was built to meet the objectives is a joint venture between Thor defi ned for this demonstration and Industries and ISE Research. Thor not necessarily as a commercial Industries includes mid-size bus product. The intent of this demon- manufacturers Champion Bus and stration is to assess how close this ElDorado National. ISE Research is technology is to commercialization. a leader in developing and inte- grating electric and hybrid electric The evaluation approach was to vehicle drive systems for sale and study the entire operation of the demonstration. ThunderPower bus at SunLine and separate the period when the bus ThunderPower, LLC, is under con- operated in revenue service from tract to demonstrate the Thunder- other activities. The data are pre- Power bus with at least two transit sented in three groups: agencies in the Los Angeles area- SunLine was one of them. SunLine’s • All data collected during objective was to show that a fuel operation at SunLine (August 22, cell bus could operate in revenue 2002 to February 24, 2003) service and fulfi ll service demands • Nonrevenue operation at SunLine from a performance and reliability (August 22, 2002 to November 5, standpoint. All participants report- 2002) ed that the bus met and, in some cases, exceeded their expectations. • Revenue operation at SunLine The ThunderPower bus left Sun- (November 6, 2002 to February Line for Chula Vista Transit to 24, 2003) 2 Fuel Cell Transit Buses Transit Buses Ideal for Fuel Cell Demonstrations Transit bus demonstrations have typically been intro- Canada. These fuel cell bus demonstrations have duction points for new heavy-duty vehicle propulsion identifi ed areas of development to prepare fuel cell technologies. This is because1: propulsion systems for heavy-duty vehicle service. Examples include: • Transit buses are centrally fueled and maintained. • Reducing the size of the fuel cell stack. • Transit buses are typically operated on fi xed routes in urban stop-and-go duty