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Hybrid-electric bus slated for Columbia |
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Friday, 03 October 2008 |
SCBIZ Daily Staff
COLUMBIA -- At a West Coast trade show next week, UQM Technologies Inc. and Proterra LLC will unveil their hybrid-electric transit bus that’s slated to begin a trial in Columbia next year.
The bus is scheduled to be put into service in the first quarter of 2009 in an FTA-sponsored nationwide trial.
UQM, based in Frederick, Colo., is a developer of alternative energy technologies.
Proterra, of Golden, Colo., will showcase the prototype HFC 35 composite-body, zero-emission, battery-dominant hybrid-electric transit bus, which is powered by a UQM PowerPhase 150 propulsion system, at the American Public Transportation Association exposition Oct. 6-8 in San Diego.
The HFC 35 transit bus, which seats 37 passengers, was funded by the Federal Transit Authority and features a lightweight composite body and an energy-efficient fuel cell hybrid-electric powertrain that qualifies the bus as a zero-emission vehicle. It emits only water from the tailpipe.
The bus is designed to accommodate a variety of auxiliary power units other than fuel cells, including diesel, gasoline and compressed natural gas engines. The bus also incorporates the company’s TerraVolt fast-charge energy storage system, which includes proprietary battery modules and packs and a battery management system that has a useful life of 10,000 charge cycles.
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