P R O J E C T S

SHFCC members are working together on innovative team projects that foster interstate cooperation and collaboration. Several of these projects are described below. We hope that their example will inspire additional stakeholders to work with the SHFCC as we strengthen the region’s leadership position in the emergent “hydrogen economy.”

Seeded Demonstration Projects

Seed funding is typically used to carry out the initial stages of a project, validate a concept, or deploy/enable an early market application. To those ends, a project may include, but is not limited to, data collection, surveying, market analysis, modeling, simulation, strategic planning, and/or equipment purchase. The projects may include medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fuel cell applications and the hydrogen infrastructure necessary to support these applications. Projects that promote transit applications are preferred. The SHFCC provides team organization and project development support, including assistance with comprehensive proposal development, preliminary project validation, and project team commitments.

SHFCC Portfolio

UTCEM/Williams Hybrid Power Flywheel –SHFCC awarded the Flywheel Demonstration Seed Project Grant to the University of Texas – Center for Electromechanics (UT-CEM).  Their proposal, “Assessment of Flywheel Technology Emerging from the Formula One Racing Community and its Benefits to the U.S. Transit Bus Market,” seeks to evaluate the performance and cost benefits of Williams Hybrid Power’s flywheel technology for heavy-duty vehicles in the U.S. market.  Williams Hybrid Power Ltd. (WHP), located in England, has developed a novel, patented technology aimed at providing a cost effective, environmentally friendly solution for mobile energy recovery and storage in flywheels.  A unique, patented feature is the Magnetically Loaded Composite, which in essence means that they can produce a wholly composite flywheel that integrates the magnets of the electric motor into the composite.  This allows for a flywheel system that can be made significantly smaller and lighter than conventional flywheels, and also runs at very high efficiencies of between 97-99%.  The program objective is to determine if this new flywheel energy storage technology provides next-generation fuel cell transit buses with either improved performance or reduced operational cost, or both.  The collaboration between UT-CEM and WHP will consist of a 6-month project period with a proposed start date of October 1, 2009.

UAB Fuel Cell Bus Program Development –The SHFCC has provided seed funding to a team led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to develop a white paper that describes the concept of designing, building, demonstrating, and evaluating the performance and commercial viability of different fuel cell hybrid-electric power train design approaches.  The plan is to demonstrate transit buses at different southern locations over a 3-5 year period.

CARTA Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration – Data Collection – The Chattanooga Area Regional Transit Authority (CARTA) operates a fleet of 12 electric buses powered by lead-acid batteries. The buses are scheduled for deployment on an extended route for which the batteries have insufficient capacity. CARTA is considering replacing the batteries with hydrogen-powered fuel cell systems. To test this concept, SHFCC seed funding helped organize a team of SHFCC members to collect data on the energy and power requirements of the buses’ operating profile. The team conducted the data collection and analysis and submitted a report in May 2006 summarizing the findings, including details on an appropriate fuel cell system replacement pack.

Atlanta Anaerobic Digester Gas Reformation Project – Work has been completed on a two-month project to study the feasibility of installing an anaerobic digester gas (ADG) reformer at the City of Atlanta’s R.M. Clayton wastewater treatment plant. The reformer would convert unused and wasted ADG into pure hydrogen, which can be sold to industrial gas distributors or end users, with excess available to fuel city transit buses and other fleet vehicles. The project tested the commercial, technical, and financial viability of the reformer with promising economic and environmental results.

Fuel Cell Lift Truck Demonstration - As a result of seed funding from the SHFCC, a project to demonstrate and evaluate the performance of a hydrogen fuel cell power system in a lift truck application was completed in Morristown, Tennessee. The project team procured and modified a lift truck with a complete General Hydrogen fuel cell system consisting of a fuel cell stack, an ultracapacitor bank, and hydrogen storage equipment. The test vehicles were operated, maintained, and monitored by the manufacturing facility. Data was collected and analyzed on test vehicle performance (power, reliability, ease of use, etc.), fuel efficiency, and environmental impact. This data was compared with the same data collected from control (electric) vehicles operated under identical conditions. Comparative results were evaluated in terms of economic and environmental costs and benefits.

University of Texas Flex-fuel HICE Hybrid Shuttle Bus - A team consisting of The Texas H2 Coalition, The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), Ft. Bend County Transit Authority, Gas Technology Institute (GTI) and the University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics (UT-CEM) is working together on a project that will demonstrate and evaluate a 22-foot shuttle bus that uses a flex fuel hydrogen internal combustion engine (HICE). The performance and maintenance of the vehicle will be evaluated under normal operating conditions in Fort Bend and, depending upon available funding, in Austin as well. The project builds upon current collaborative program activities by UT-CEM and GTI.

Alternative Fuels Strategic Plan for the San Antonio International Airport – The goal of this SHFCC seed project was to develop a strategic plan for an alternative fueling facility for the San Antonio International Airport (SAIA).  The project was driven by the demand for, and lack of access to, a fueling facility near the airport.  In recognition of their commitment to the environment, San Antonio’s Department of Aviation proposed to use this opportunity to develop a clean-fuels infrastructure plan to encourage and support the use of alternative fuel vehicles by the city, airport-based businesses, corporate and governmental fleet managers, as well as the general public. To develop the strategic plan, the SHFCC enlisted a panel of subject matter experts from academia, research institutes, and governmental organizations.  The purpose of the panel was to develop an understanding of SAIA’s requirements and to apply their expertise in defining a series of considerations for alternative fuels infrastructure for the airport.

The panel’s efforts resulted in a high-level strategy to address the airports’ near-term and long-term alternative fuel objectives. Key elements of this strategy include the implementation of a public-access facility, initially providing access to biodiesel and CNG.  This would be followed by the transition of airport and tenant owned vehicles to hybrid and electric drive vehicles.  Finally, the panel recommended that the airport engage in a series of demonstration projects promoting the use of alternative such as HCNG and hydrogen fuel cells.

The Strategic Plan is intended to provide the Department with information to consider in their analysis and RFP processes.  It is anticipated that the plan will be used as the basis to obtain funding for the next phase, Feasibility Analysis.

Related SHFCC Initiatives

Texas DOT (TxDOT) Strategic Plan for Hydrogen Vehicles and Fueling Stations - Administered by the SHFCC, the strategic plan was created by an 11-member panel of representatives from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, in addition to several TxDOT managers, and defines a path for TxDOT to facilitate the introduction of hydrogen infrastructure and vehicles as a fuel in Texas. The eleven individuals who served on the panel have a collective hydrogen-related research, demonstration, implementation, and commercialization experience totaling more than 100 years.

Preliminary Flywheel Design Completed for Fuel Cell Transit Bus - The University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics (UT-CEM) has now completed the preliminary design of a flywheel energy storage system for a fuel cell-powered 40-foot transit bus. The work was made possible by funding from the Federal Transit Administration under the FY2006 Southern Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Coalition program.
The flywheel program began with the completion of a review of current design approaches for fuel cell powered transit buses that focused on fuel cell performance, drive train architecture, energy storage systems, and power electronics. The remaining program scope included:

• Evaluation of hybrid vehicle architectures that integrate fuel cell technologies and flywheel energy storage
• Design trade studies and typical route simulations for a flywheel-based fuel cell hybrid bus
• Modeling of next-generation flywheel system concepts to evaluate benefits of newer, improved approaches that have commercial applications
• Preliminary system design analysis to define a flywheel-based fuel cell bus architecture, including route modeling and performance benefits

The program culminated in a PDR-level flywheel design for a selected fuel cell bus architecture. UT-CEM’s cost and system performance analysis show that the design can be competitive with commercially available ultracapacitor units by delivering better energy density and comparable power delivery.

Georgetown University Next Generation Bus - In response to a request for proposal released in October 2007 by Georgetown University for its “Generation III Methanol Fuel Cell Transit Bus Integration and Test” program, a project team is now under contract to complete Phase Two of the work schedule with a fully designed bus ready for final construction. Phase One of the Georgetown Methanol Fuel Cell Bus Program is complete. Phase One included all design tasks related to the bus including design of traction motor/controller, DC/DC converter, fuel system, HVAC, low voltage electrical, and all mechanical interfaces and packaging. With Phase One complete, the team moved on to part procurement and initial integration. The “Bus Integration Team,” which will be managed by CTE/SHFCC, consists of EVAmerica, LLC, Georgia Tech Research Institute, SKI, Inc., Electro Energy, Inc., and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In keeping with the key objectives of the Generation III program, the CTE/SHFCC team will utilize hybrid electric bus technology based on a commercially available, lightweight bus platform. Building on the technology of previous methanol fuel cell buses, power for the bus will be provided by an advanced methanol reforming fuel cell module.  Upon completion of the systems integration and preliminary testing, the bus will be evaluated under revenue service conditions at one or two transit agencies. Project updates, as available, here.

National Fuel Cell Bus Program Update - The SHFCC continues to coordinate two fuel cell bus technology projects for its members under FTA’s National Fuel Cell Bus Technology Development Program: (1) a survey of hydrogen bus demonstrations, and (2) the design, build, and demonstration of Proterra’s (formerly Mobile Energy Solutions) 35-foot composite-bodied fuel cell hybrid bus. CTE was the first of the three regional consortia organizations to get under contract with the FTA and recently completed the tenth quarter of work for the two projects. Both projects are progressing nicely and recent progress by the bus team includes:

• Bus completion (currently undergoing final commissioning and FMVSS testing)
• Bus participated at National Hydrogen Association Conference and Expo 2009 as a promotional fuel cell vehicle
• Bus underwent independent Fuel Economy Testing by Altoona Bus Testing and Research Center.  In battery only mode bus achieved, 21.35 mpg (diesel equivalent), 17.55 mpg, and 29.23 mpg on simulated central business district, arterial, and commuter courses, respectively.  Report available upon request.
• Bus delivered to Columbia SC for first year of demonstration and data collection

Current Status

• Bus currently in 90-day Introductory period to include shadow service, driver & maintenance training, and validation
• Bus also participating in a series of promotional events and getting excellent feedback
• Completing development of manuals and training program
• Completing System Safety Program

Future Work

• Begin Columbia Public Demonstration first week of November 2009, operated by Central Midlands Regional Transit Agency (CMRTA) and University of South Carolina
• Collect data during 10 months of operation
• Plan for second year-long demonstration in Austin, TX

SHFCC Effectiveness Review - CTE and the FTA developed an online survey instrument that was used to assess the effectiveness of SHFCC services and initiatives. The survey solicited feedback from members and other stakeholders regarding efforts to build, promote, and manage the coalition, provide seed funding for projects, develop project opportunities for members, and represent the coalition at industry conferences. Results from the survey, along with guidance from reviews by the FTA, are being used to establish future work plans and determine the allocation of funds for the SHFCC program.  To view a summary of these results please click here.

SHFCC is an initiative of