Fuel Cell Bus Unveiled

Article by Diane Kukich; photo by Kathy Atkinson

Monday, April 9, 2007

A fuel-cell powered bus that is now part of the University of Delaware's campus-wide fleet was unveiled today at a press conference at the Bob Carpenter Center. The event was attended by close to 100 people, including U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.); U.S. Rep. Michael Castle (R-Del.); UD faculty, staff, and students; school children from the local community; and reporters from TV and print media in the region.

The bus is the tangible culmination of a demonstration project being carried out by a multidisciplinary team in the College of Engineering and coordinated by the Delaware Center for Transportation (DCT). Ardeshir Faghri, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of DCT, is a co-investigator on the team, which is led by Ajay Prasad, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and also includes Suresh Advani, George W. Laird Professor of Mechanical Engineering. The project is supported by a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration, matched by private financing from companies working in partnership with the University.

Senator Carper referred to the vehicle as the "Magic Bus," and both he and Congressman Castle acknowledged that while it is "just one little bus," it will go a long way toward educating the public about alternative energy sources and answering questions about implementation of new technologies.

"Engineering is all about reducing science to practice," said Dean Eric Kaler, who also spoke at the event. "Demonstration projects are critical to public acceptance of new technologies, and this bus is a perfect example of how our work on clean energy is being reduced to practice."

After a period of service on UD's Laird Campus, the bus will be turned over to the Delaware Transit Corporation for use with the larger community. "Every trip this bus takes will increase our knowledge base about fuel-cell technology," said Prasad.

According to Faghri, the program's long-term goal is for UD to be positioned at the forefront of research, development, and implementation of the state of the art in hydrogen-based fuel-cell transit buses.

CEE Department Chair Michael Chajes is pleased that civil engineering faculty were involved in the fuel-cell bus project. "One of the areas that we're targeting as a future direction for the department is sustainability," he says. "This project is a perfect example of what we see as a new area of focus for civil and environmental engineers."

To read more about the fuel-cell bus project, visit the links below: