ThunderVolt Gasoline Hybrid-Electric Drive; First Volume Use of Ultracapacitors in Buses

Electric Vehicle Product Update from ISE Corporation
Volume IV, Issue 1 * 2004.01.01

SAN DIEGO, CA - ISE announced that it has received a purchase order from New Flyer Industries for 27 of its ThunderVolt gasoline hybrid-electric drive systems equipped with ultracapacitors. Culminating nine months of production preparations that began with Long Beach Transit's April 2003 selection of the New Flyer-ISE system for its next large transit bus purchase, and successful completion of an extensive durability and safety testing program on ISE's ThunderPack II ultracapacitor system, Long Beach Transit and New Flyer have selected the ISE ultracapacitor equipped gasoline hybrid electric drive system. This commitment on the part of New Flyer, the largest supplier of transit buses in the U.S., recognizes ISE's success in demonstrating the readiness of its unique gasoline hybrid drive system for large-scale production.

Recent accomplishments that set the stage for the New Flyer order include:

• ISE completed development of a new, production version of the gasoline hybrid drive system in October 2003. As pictured below, the new drive system design is compact and extremely easy to install into transit buses.
• The California Air Resources Board (ARB) certified the ISE gasoline hybridelectric drive system for sale in California on 30 October 2003. This is the first hybrid-electric drive system to be certified by the ARB for use in transit buses.
• This bus, on loan from Omnitrans for testing and verification, is now undergoing FTA-mandated testing in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

ISE's new gasoline-hybrid drive system ready for installation

The ISE gasoline-hybrid drive system was certified to a level of 0.4 grams per brake horsepower hour of NOx plus non-methyl hydrocarbons, making it the only commercially available engine or drive system that meets EPA and ARB 2007 emissions standards. In addition, the test bus averaged more than 5 miles per gallon in loaded drive tests simulating a typical transit bus route; better fuel economy than achieved by most diesel buses. Several unique features of the ThunderVolt gasoline hybrid system contribute to its unprecedented low emissions and high fuel economy. The system generates electrical power with a highly efficient, ultra-low emission ("ULEV") rated Ford Triton V10 engine. In ISE's advanced ThunderVolt series hybrid drive configuration, the engine is operated in its most efficient, cleanest-burning power range, and a high voltage pack of Maxwell ultracapacitors is used to provide surge power and capture regenerative braking energy. ISE's ThunderPack II ultracapacitor energy storage system is comprised of 288 of Maxwell's Boostcap 10 ultracapacitors, rated at 2500F each. The ultracapacitor packs have several advantages over batteries, including more efficient capture and release of electrical energy, longer cycle lives, and lighter weight. The largest advantage to the transit industry is that the ThunderPack II ultracapacitor energy storage system comes with an unprecedented five year warranty.

ISE's ThunderVolt hybrid drive system also makes use of Siemens ELFA motors, motor controllers, and generators. These are the most proven hybrid bus components in the world, having been used in more than 600 buses in Europe. These Siemens components have been used in more than 30 million miles of total revenue service - more than all other heavy-duty hybrid drive system combined. In the ThunderVolt configuration, the result is an exceptionally reliable drive system that is warranted by ISE and Siemens for up to five full years.

New Flyer's order for 27 of these ISE drive systems is expected to be just the start of a very large production run of New Flyer buses using ISE's clean, efficient hybrid drive technology. Long Beach Transit holds options for 80 more gasoline hybrid-powered 40-foot New Flyer buses, and other California transit agencies are expected to "piggyback" orders for as many as 35 additional buses onto the Long Beach procurement.

ISE's hybrid drive system is also available in a diesel-fueled version that uses the modern Cummins ISB02 engine. The first 40-foot buses using the diesel variant of ISE's drive system have already been delivered to New Jersey Transit, achieving exceptionally high reliability in revenue service, with fuel economy averaging more than 6 miles per gallon.

ISE is a leading supplier of hybrid-electric and fuel cell based drive systems for heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and trucks. In addition to selling complete hybrid-electric drive systems, ISE also sells a variety of electric and hybrid-electric vehicle components and offers a range of vehicle integration and support services. For additional information on ISE's environmentally-friendly, high-performance drive systems and other products, please contact:

Director of Marketing

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ISE Corporation
7345 Mission Gorge Road, Suite K
San Diego, CA 92120
Phone: (619) 287-8785
Fax: (619) 287-8795
www.isecorp.com
marketing@isecorp.com