UTC Power, the South Windsor fuel-cell division of United Technologies Corp., said one of its fuel cell powerplants mounted aboard a California transit bus has surpassed 5,000 hours of maintenance-free service.
UTC Power’s PureMotion cell powers three hybrid-electric buses serving the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District in the Oakland, Calif., area.
A similar bus serves downtown Hartford riders daily. UTC Power does not build the coaches, only the fuel cells.
The powerplant has its original cell stacks and has had no cell replacements, UTC Power said Wednesday.
“Stack durability matters,” said Ken Stewart, UTC Power vice president-transportation. Â It is recognized by the industry as a key challenge in commercializing fuel cell vehicles worldwide. The last time we serviced the stacks in that bus, all of the candidates for President still had nine months of campaigning to do.”
The three buses have traveled more than 213,000 miles, with an average fuel economy that is 65 percent better than the control fleet of diesel buses running the same routes and duty cycles, Stewart said.
