New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE H2 transit buses have passed the Federal Transit Administration Model Bus Testing Program to make them eligible for federal funding assistance to transit agencies, the company announced.
The CHARGE H2 buses are propelled by hydrogen that is converted to electricity in a fuel cell through an electrochemical reaction with oxygen. The emissions output is water vapor. The electricity is stored in batteries that also can be charged through regenerative braking.
New Flyer says the buses can travel up to 300 miles before refueling with hydrogen, which requires six to 20 minutes. Fuel tanks in the 40-foot bus hold 83 pounds of hydrogen. The 60-foot model’s tanks hold 132 pounds.
Completion of the federal testing regimen at Altoona “establishes New Flyer as the only manufacturer to offer both a 40-foot and 60-foot fuel-cell electric model that qualifies for federal funding,” New Flyer stated in a press release.
The company is delivering 25 CHARGE H2 buses to three California transit agencies with funding support from the California Climate Investments program.
“With the addition of the Xcelsior CHARGE H2, New Flyer proudly offers a robust line of zero-emission transit buses to assist in the transition to clean transit, to serve the evolving needs of communities and to meet increasingly stringent greenhouse emissions regulations such as California’s Innovate Clean Transit rule,” said New Flyer President Chris Stoddart.
“We anticipate fuel cells for extended range will complement all battery-electric technology, not only in transit but in other industries such as commercial trucks.”
New Flyer said it is the only North American manufacturer offering all three types of zero-emission bus electric systems: trolley, full battery and fuel cell. It has zero-emission bus orders from cities including Toronto, Boston, Minneapolis, New York, Portland and Vancouver.
