EV Programs - USA

Electric Fuel is involved in an all Electric Transit Bus program with a number of strategic partners utilizing a strong network of resources throughout the United States.

The zinc-air all-electric transit bus program will demonstrate the ability of the Electric Fuel battery system to power a full-size, all electric transit bus that can go an entire day, without the need for recharging, in heavy-duty city traffic and suburban routes, under all types of weather conditions. A 40-foot transit bus manufactured by the NOVA Bus Company is being used in the program. The bus has room for 40 seats, 37 standing passengers, and weighs 39,500 lbs.

Program Partners
General Electric
Nova Bus
Center for Sustainable Energy
Community College of Southern Nevada
Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County Nevada

General Electric will provide the power train, controllers, AC/DC inverts, hardware and software interfaces while Electric Fuel will provide a 320 kWh zinc-air battery to be integrated into the bus with the assistance of GE and Nova. The bus will be operated and maintained by the Community College of Southern Nevada as part of its automotive technology and alternative fuels curriculum. The Center for Sustainable Technology (CST), founded by the Electric Power Research Institute and Bechtel National Inc., and the Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County Nevada are also partners in the program.

The US Department of Transportation has allocated $2 million in federal funding for this zinc-air Electric Transit Bus Program. The money comes from the Federal Transit Administration's R&D 1998 budget.

BIRD Program
General Electric Company and Electric Fuel have been awarded funding from the Israeli-US Bi-national Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation to develop an all-electric, battery/battery hybrid propulsion system for powering electric buses and heavy duty trucks. The new propulsion system incorporates a General Electric drive system with GE's energy management systems adapted specifically for this application and will be incorporated into the Nova Bus.

This unique zero-emission electric hybrid system offers economic advantages over other alternative-fuel solutions by significantly lowering vehicle maintenance costs with reduced brake wear-and-tear and virtually eliminating engine/transmission maintenance. Range will be expanded by up to 25%, enhancing energy efficiency and reducing operating costs.

EPRI
Electric Fuel has a memorandum of understanding with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a leading energy research organization jointly owned by most of America's leading electric utility companies. As part of the bus program, EPRI will help investigate the development a regeneration facility to support additional fleet vehicles. CST, which was founded by EPRI, is one of the major partners in developing the Electric Fuel bus program.