Technology Validation: Fuel Cell Bus Evaluations

Leslie Eudy National Renewable Energy Laboratory June 19, 2014

Project ID# TV008

This presentation does not contain any proprietary, confidential, or otherwise restricted information.

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Overview

• Project start date: FY03 • Project end date: 10/2014*

• A. Lack of current fuel cell vehicle (bus) performance and durability data

• C. Lack of current H2 fueling infrastructure performance and availability data

FY13 DOE funding: $300K Planned FY14 DOE funding: $300K Total DOE project value (pre-FY2013): $2.577 M (11 yr) Additional funding: DOT/Federal Transit Admin. and CARB

Timeline

Budget

Barriers

• Transit Fleets: Operational data, fleet experience

• Manufacturers: Vehicle specs, data, and review

• Fuel providers: Fueling data and review

Partners

*Project continuation and direction determined annually by DOE.

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Relevance • Validate fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) performance and cost compared to

DOE/DOT targets and conventional technologies • Document progress and “lessons learned” on implementing fuel cell systems in

transit operations to address barriers to market acceptance

Current Targets* Units 2016 Target Ultimate Target

Bus lifetime Years / miles 12/500,000 12/500,000

Powerplant lifetime Hours 18,000 25,000

Bus availability % 85 90

Roadcall frequency (Bus/fuel cell system)

Miles between road call 3,500/15,000 4,000/20,000

Operation time Hours per day/ days per week 20/7 20/7

Maintenance cost $/mile 0.75 0.40

Fuel economy Miles per diesel gallon equivalent 8 8

* Fuel Cell Technologies Program Record # 12012, Sep 2012, www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/12012_fuel_cell_bus_targets.pdf

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Approach Data Collection/Analysis • NREL 3rd Party

analysis uses standard protocol for collecting existing data from transit partners

• Includes comparisons to conventional technology buses in similar service (diesel, CNG, diesel hybrid)

Individual Site Reports • Documents

performance results and experience for each transit agency

• Builds database of results

• Reports published and posted on NREL web site

Annual FCEB status report • Crosscutting analysis

comparing results from all sites

• Assesses progress and needs for continued success

• Provides input on annual status for DOE/DOT Targets

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Accomplishments: Progress Toward Targets NREL Assesses Technology Readiness Levels

Bus OEM Length

(ft) Fuel Cell System Hybrid System Design Strategy Energy Storage TRL Level

Van Hool 40 ClearEdge

Power Siemens ELFA integrated

by Van Hool Fuel cell dominant Lithium-based batteries 7

New Flyer 40 Ballard Siemens ELFA integrated

by Bluways Fuel cell dominant Lithium-based batteries 7

ElDorado 40 Ballard BAE Systems Fuel cell dominant Lithium-based batteries 7

Proterra 35 Hydrogenics Proterra integration Battery dominant Lithium-based batteries 6

Manufacturer teams for FCEBs currently operating in the United States

Data included in Presentation

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Accomplishments: Progress Toward Targets Data Summary for 2014

FCEB Identifier ACT ZEBA BCT AT SL AT SL AFCB Transit Agency AC Transit BC Transit SunLine SunLine Number of Buses 12 20 1 1 Bus OEM Van Hool New Flyer New Flyer ElDorado National Bus length/height 40 ft / 136 in 40 ft / 137 in 40 ft / 137 in 40 ft / 140 in Fuel Cell OEM ClearEdge Power Ballard Ballard Ballard Model PureMotion 120 FCvelocity, HD6 FCvelocity, HD6 FCvelocity, HD6 Power (kW) 120 150 150 150

Hybrid System Siemens ELFA,

integrated by Van Hool

Siemens ELFA, integrated by

Bluways

Siemens ELFA, integrated by

Bluways

BAE Systems HybriDrive

Design strategy FC dominant FC dominant FC dominant FC dominant Energy Storage - OEM EnerDel Valence Valence A123

Type Li-ion Li-ion Li-ion Nanophosphate Li-ion

Capacity 17.4 kWh 47 kWh 47 kWh 11 kWh # cylinders 8 8 6 8 Capacity (kg) / Pressure (Bar) 40 / 350 56 / 350 43 / 350 50 / 350

ACT ZEBA BCT SL AT SL AFCB

Specifications for FCEBs included in data summary New fleet

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Accomplishments: Progress Toward Targets Data Summary for 2014

FCEB Identifier ACT ZEBA BCT AT SL AT SL AFCB Transit Agency AC Transit BC Transit SunLine SunLine Number of Buses 12 20 1 1 Bus OEM Van Hool New Flyer New Flyer ElDorado National Bus length/height 40 ft / 136 in 40 ft / 137 in 40 ft / 137 in 40 ft / 140 in Fuel Cell OEM ClearEdge Power Ballard Ballard Ballard Model PureMotion 120 FCvelocity, HD6 FCvelocity, HD6 FCvelocity, HD6 Power (kW) 120 150 150 150

Hybrid System Siemens ELFA,

integrated by Van Hool

Siemens ELFA, integrated by

Bluways

Siemens ELFA, integrated by

Bluways

BAE Systems HybriDrive

Design strategy FC dominant FC Dominant FC dominant FC dominant Energy Storage - OEM EnerDel Valence Valence A123

Type Li-ion Li-ion Li-ion Nanophosphate Li-ion

Capacity 17.4 kWh 47 kWh 47 kWh 11 kWh # cylinders 8 8 6 8 Capacity (kg) / Pressure (Bar) 40 / 350 56 / 350 43 / 350 50 / 350

ACT ZEBA BCT SL AT SL AFCB

Specifications for FCEBs included in data summary New fleet

Hybrid system optimization and integration is the primary difference between designs

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Accomplishments: Progress Toward Targets Hybrid System Comparison ACT ZEBA

BCT

SL AT

SL AFCB

Hybrid System Comparison of Design and Integration Challenges

Siemens ELFA, integrated by Van Hool

ZEBA – 2010 deployment, first time integration by bus OEM using proven components, needed significant optimizations early in demo, multiple software changes to system and battery controls, experienced early issues with diagnosing intermittent faults

Siemens ELFA, integrated by Bluways

(originally ISE)

BCT – 2010 deployment, optimized for reliability as opposed to fuel efficiency, original integrator went bankrupt forcing other partners to step up support, non-moveable deadline for deployment (2010 Olympics) resulted in less time to fully optimize and test, made several modifications after deployment – primary changes were increased hydrogen storage to improve range and added heating for winter

Siemens ELFA, integrated by Bluways

(originally ISE)

AT – 2009 deployment, pilot bus to BCT fleet, early tests of pilot bus in BC showed improvements were needed to meet BCT requirements, bus was later updated to almost match BCT specs – primary difference is hydrogen storage, bus was sold to SunLine and put into service in California

BAE Systems HybriDrive

AFCB – late 2012 deployment, design based on a proven diesel hybrid propulsion design (more than 3,000 are operating around the world), modified to FC system power , integrator worked closely with OEM, plan to move toward full integration by bus OEM for future builds, at least 6 more buses being produced for several agencies

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Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Top Fuel Cell Powerplant exceeds 16,000 Hours

Total hours accumulated on each FC powerplant (FCPP) as of 2/28/14

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Hou

rs o

f Ope

ratio

n (1

,000

)

Hours of Fuel Cell Operation by Bus Fleet

Jun-10

Aug-10

Oct-10

Dec-10

Feb-11

Apr-11

Jun-11

Aug-11

Oct-11

Dec-11

Feb-12

Apr-12

Jun-12

Aug-12

Oct-12

Dec-12

Feb-13

Apr-13

Jun-13

Aug-13

Oct-13

Dec-13

Feb-14

SunLineBC TransitCTT NutmegACT ZEBA

Created: Apr-03-14 8:05 AM

Total Hours = 294,074Top 3 FCPP hours: • 16,419 • 11,908 • 9,903

60% of FCPPs over 7,000 hours

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Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Average Bus Availability improves by 20%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100S

ep-1

1

Oct

-11

Nov

-11

Dec

-11

Jan-

12

Feb-

12

Mar

-12

Apr

-12

May

-12

Jun-

12

Jul-1

2

Aug

-12

Sep

-12

Oct

-12

Nov

-12

Dec

-12

Jan-

13

Feb-

13

Mar

-13

Apr

-13

May

-13

Jun-

13

Jul-1

3

Aug

-13

Sep

-13

Oct

-13

Nov

-13

Dec

-13

Avai

labi

lity

(%)

SL AT BCT ZEBA AFCB Average

Target: 90%

Monthly bus availability

Availability = planned operation days compared to actual operation days

Bus issues (radiator leak, camera) and battery issues lowered availability for SunLine buses

Average availability 2013: 57% 2014: 69%

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FC System, 4,804, 15%

Hybrid Propulsion,

15,301, 47%

PM, 4,328, 13%

General Maintenance, 7,954, 25%

BCT ATLabor hours

Fuel Cell System, 81,

17%

Hybrid Propulsion,

36, 7%

Traction Batteries, 239,

49%

General Maintenance,

130, 27%

SL AT

Fuel Cell System, 4, 2%

Hybrid Propulsion, 9,

5% Traction Batteries, 14,

7%

General Maintenance,

164, 82%

PM, 8, 4%

SL AFCB

Fuel Cell System, 173,

11% Hybrid Propulsion,

129, 8%

Traction Batteries, 226,

14%General Maintenance,

1,027, 66%

Event Prep, 13, 1%

ZEBA

Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Reasons for Unavailability by Site

1,586 total days

199 total days 486 total days

32,388 hours

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Highly variable depending on duty cycle: average speed, terrain, auxiliary loads

Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Monthly Fuel Economy compared to Baseline

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Fuel

Eco

nom

y (m

pDG

E)

ZEBA ACT Diesel SL AT SL AFCB

SL CNG BCT AT BCT Diesel

Target: 8 mpg

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Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Comparison to Previous Generation FCEBs

FCEB Identifier VH1 (Van Hool 1st Gen) VTA

Transit Agency AC Transit, CTTRANSIT, SunLine

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

Number of Buses 5 3 Bus OEM Van Hool Gillig Bus length/height 40 ft / 139 in 40 ft / 144 in Fuel Cell OEM UTC Power Ballard Model PureMotion 120 P5-2 Power (kW) 120 300

Hybrid System Siemens ELFA, integrated by ISE Corp Not a hybrid system

Design strategy FC dominant N/A Energy Storage - OEM MES-DEA N/A

Type sodium/Nickel Chloride N/A

Capacity 53 kWh N/A # cylinders 8 11 Capacity (kg) / Pressure (Bar) 50 / 350 55 / 350

Specifications for 1st Generation FCEBs

VTA

VH1

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Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Monthly Miles 2 Times higher than 1st Gen

Transit agencies are increasing service; approaching target, but still lower than conventional buses

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

VH1 VTA ACTZEBA

BCT AT SL AT SL AFCB

Aver

age

Mon

thly

Mile

s

FCB Diesel CNG

Second generationFirst generation

Avg: 2,418

Avg: 1,191

Target 3,000

15

0

1

2

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4

5

6

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8

9

VH1(low)

VH1(high)

VTA ACTZEBA

BCT AT SL AT SLAFCB

Fuel

eco

nom

y (m

pDG

E)FCB Diesel CNG

Second generationFirst generation

Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Fuel Economy up to 2 Times Better than Baseline

Lowest fuel economy was for 1st gen system that was not a hybrid (VTA) Highly variable depending on duty cycle, but generally higher than baseline buses

Non-hybrid system had lower fuel economy than diesel baseline

Large heating system impacted fuel economy

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Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Availability Increased to 69%

Recent issues with FCEBs at SunLine lowered availability for 2nd gen SL AFCB - Difficulty of diagnosing source of leak resulted in extended downtime Availability was 84% prior to issue.

0

10

20

30

40

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60

70

80

90

100

VH1 VTA ACTZEBA

BCT AT SL AT SL AFCB

Perc

ent A

vaila

bilit

yTarget: 90%

Second generationFirst generation

Avg: 66 Avg: 69

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Accomplishments : Progress Toward Targets Reliability: Bus MBRC 48% higher than 1st Gen

*MBRC = miles between roadcall

Total MBRC Propulsion MBRC FC System MBRC 1st Gen average 1,263 1,555 7,710 2nd Gen average 1,863 2,523 9,554 Percent improvement 48% 62% 24%

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

VH1 VTA ACT ZEBA BCT AT SL AT SL AFCB

Mile

s B

etw

een

Roa

dcal

l

Total MBRC

Propulsion MBRC

FC System MBRC

Second generationFirst generation

2016 FC System Target

Propulsion System Target

Total Bus Target

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Accomplishments and Progress: Responses to Previous Year Reviewers’ Comments

• Consider looking at past data to show progress. Compare data from previous generation buses. o Comparisons to first generation FCEBs included in this presentation

(Slides 14-17)

• Provide more detail in the differences in generations of buses to better inform the direction in the performance of the products. o Selected specifications of the early and current generation buses are

included in the presentation. (Slide 6)

• If possible, NREL should identify the cause of the large increase in fuel economy and availability of the AFCB over the AT buses at SunLine. o Descriptions of the difference in these systems are included in the

presentation (slides 6-8)

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Collaborations • Transit agencies provide data on buses, fleet experience, and training,

and review reports o California: AC Transit, BurbankBus, Golden Gate Transit, Santa Clara VTA,

SamTrans, SunLine, San Francisco MTA o Connecticut: CTTRANSIT o Alabama: Birmingham-Jefferson County o Texas: Capital Metro, Austin o Illinois: Chicago Transit Authority

• Manufacturers provide some data on buses and review reports o Bus OEMs: Proterra, Van Hool, New Flyer, ElDorado National o FC OEMs: Ballard, Hydrogenics, ClearEdge Power, Nuvera o Hybrid system OEMs: BAE Systems, GE, Van Hool, US Hybrid

• Other organizations share information and data o National: CARB, NAVC, CTE, CALSTART o International: Various organizations from Germany, Iceland, Brazil, Canada,

China, Japan, England, Norway, Italy, Sweden

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Remaining Challenges and Barriers For technology validation and data collection project: • Establish good relationships with additional transit agencies to

allow data collection for new FCEB designs • Continue data collection to track progress as buses age, and to

understand operational costs after buses are out of warranty For industry to meet technical targets and commercialize FCEBs: • Increase durability and reliability of the fuel cell, battery system,

and other components • Improve integration/optimization of systems and components • Transition build process with OEM taking the primary role for bus

production • Transition all maintenance to transit staff (no onsite OEM support) • Reduce cost, both capital and operating

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2013 2014 20151 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 1 2

Advanced T echnology F C E B C A T housand P alms 1 S unLineB C T rans it F C E B B C Whistler 20 Whis tler Trans it, C anada

Oakland AC Trans itS an R afael GGT

VTA, S amTransC A T housand P alms 1 S unLineIL C hicago 1 C TA

NY Inthaca 1 TC TAOH C leveland 1 GC R TA

AF C B (T IG G E R ) C A T housand P alms 2 S unLineC T AF C B C T Hartford 1 C TTR ANS ITB urbank F C E B C A B urbank 1 B urbankB usC ompound B us 2010 * C A S an F rancisco 1 S FMTAB irmingham F C E B * AL B irmingham 1 B J C TAMassachusetts AF C B * MA B oston 1 MB TA

T X Austin C ap MetroDC Washington DC DOT

Next-gen C ompound B us * C A S an F rancisco 1 S FMTAB attery Dominant AF C B * C A T housand P alms 1 S unLine* National F uel C ell B us P rogram project

C olor coded by F uel cell dominant hybrid electricDes ign S trategy:

B attery dominant hybrid electric

Diesel hybrid with fuel cell primarily for for accessories

Advanced C omposite F C E B * 1

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American F uel C ell B us (AF C B ) *

Fuel C ell E lec tric B us E valuations for DOE , FT A, and C AR B

ZE B A Demonstration * C A

Demons tration S tate#

B us esC ity

Proposed Future Work

Jun 2014

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Proposed Future Work

• Remainder of FY 2014 o Complete following data analyses/reports:

– AC Transit, ZEBA Demo Report, Apr 2014 – SunLine AFCB Report, Jun 2014 – BC Transit Final Report, Aug 2014 (demo ended Mar 2014) – 2013 Annual Status Report, Sep 2014

o Begin data collection on FCEBs in Birmingham and Austin

• FY 2015 o Kick off new FCEB evaluations as buses go into service o Complete Individual Site reports as scheduled o Complete annual crosscutting analysis across sites

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Summary Documented progress toward targets:

Units Current Status 2016 Target Ultimate Target

Bus lifetime Years / miles 5/100,000 12/500,000 12/500,000

Powerplant lifetime1 Hours 1,000 – 16,000 18,000 25,000

Bus availability % 55 – 72 85 90

Roadcall frequency2

(Bus/fuel cell system) Miles between

road call 1,500 – 4,000 / 6,000 – 19,000 3,500/15,000 4,000/20,000

Operation time Hours per day/ days per week 19/7 20/7 20/7

Maintenance cost $/mile 0.39 – 1.60 0.75 0.40

Fuel economy Miles per diesel gallon equivalent 4.5 – 7.3 8 8

Range miles 220 – 310 300 300

1 Fuel cell hours accumulated to date from newest FCPP to oldest FCPP. Does not indicate end of life. 2 MBRC: range from lowest to highest for current designs