FTA Program Promotes Advanced Fuel Cell Technologies to Power Cleaner, Greener Transit Buses
December 21, 2010
In an effort to explore greener, more efficient ways to power buses, the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) National Fuel Cell Bus Program is allocating $6.42 million in funding to the Center for Transportation and the Environment in Atlanta and $10.17 million to CALSTART in Pasadena, CA, to coordinate research among fuel cell manufacturers, engineering firms and transit agencies throughout the country.
Other projects being funded this year include an effort to develop a smaller, less costly, and more durable fuel cell power system that will enable commercialization of U.S. fuel cell buses, and an effort to develop a lightweight, highly-efficient bus that incorporates both an improved hybrid-electric drive and enhanced bus design.
The purpose of the program is to facilitate the development of commercially viable fuel cell bus technologies and increase public acceptance of the fuel cell vehicles. This program is one of three environmentally friendly FTA grant competitions; the others are the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) and the Clean Fuels programs. The full press release is available on the U.S. Department of Transportation Web site.