Skip to main content

5,000-hour durability milestone for transit bus fuel cell system

UTC Power, a United Technologies Corporation company, has announced one of its latest generation PureMotion Model 120 fuel cell powerplants for hybrid-electric transit buses has surpassed 5,000 operating hours in real-world service with its original cell stacks and no cell replacements.
February 1, 2012 Read time: 1 min

271 UTC Power, a 2064 United Technologies Corporation company, has announced one of its latest generation PureMotion Model 120 fuel cell powerplants for hybrid-electric transit buses has surpassed 5,000 operating hours in real-world service with its original cell stacks and no cell replacements. This powerplant is aboard an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) bus operating in the Greater Oakland, California area.

274 AC Transit interim general manager Mary King commented, "This is an important milestone for our programme that shows the steady progress of fuel cell technology and its potential value to urban transit fleets."

Three of AC Transit's buses are equipped with UTC Power fuel cell systems and have now travelled over 340,000kms, with an average fuel economy that is 65 per cent better than the control fleet of diesel buses running the same routes and duty cycles.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Voting for change - the democratisation of transportation
    December 8, 2014
    Contra Costa is using an innovative planning method to gather suggestions and craft future transportation spending plans. Public opinion in matters relating to transport rarely exceeds complaints about congestion on the roads, crowded metros, slow buses with ‘exorbitant’ fares or perhaps enforcement cameras.
  • Why the US said ‘yes’ to public transportation on 8 November
    March 29, 2017
    Historic funding boost reflects America’s awareness of transit’s contribution to economic growth and quality of life. Something unexpected happened on Election Day 2016, a result nobody expected; public transportation was a clear winner. There were 49 transit-related funding initiatives on ballots across the nation, of which about 70% were passed.
  • Finland to become a model country for sustainable transport by 2020
    June 18, 2014
    Finland’s technical research centre’s (VTT) TransSmart vision of a model country for sustainable transport throws the spotlight on efficiency – in vehicles, systems, and services. It says transport will be a fusion of sustainable energy sources, advanced technology, safety, high service levels, mobility alternatives and new ways of operating. According to VTT, Finland in 2020 will use low-emission vehicles running on renewable energy, electricity, hydrogen and sustainable bio-fuels. The share of public t
  • Greensboro Transit Authority lo debut Poterra electric bus fleet
    November 15, 2017
    Manufacturer of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles Proterra has announced that Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) will purchase four of its electric buses this fall as part of a joint effort to minimize emissions, reduce traffic congestion and accelerate sustainable infrastructure development. The 40-foot Proterra buses will replace retiring fossil fuel buses and are designed with the intention of eliminating more than 1.2 million lbs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Over their 12-year lifespan, the