Gasoline Hybrid Drive System

March 9, 2005, Long Beach, California:  New Flyer Industries delivered the first new gasoline hybrid 40-foot urban transit bus in Southern California to Long Beach Transit.  The pilot bus delivery is the first of 76 in the initial production run to be delivered to Long Beach and other Southern California transit agencies.  ISE Corporation of San Diego builds the gasoline hybrid-electric drive system that propels the bus.  The emissions of the Ford V10 gasoline engine in this application are so low that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has designated gasoline as an alternative fuel for these urban transit buses. The hybrid technology is projected to save tons of exhaust emissions and reduce the cost of ownership for the operating agencies. 

The bus is electrically propelled by Siemens motors and the on board energy storage is two ultracapacitor packs made by ISE from Maxwell Technology ultracapacitor cells.  Both the Siemens electrical components and the energy storage may last the life of the vehicle without replacement and practically zero maintenance.  Despite the lower energy content of gasoline compared to diesel fuel and the less efficient spark ignition compared to diesel ignition process, the ISE hybrid technology maintains the fuel consumption on a par with the conventional diesel buses being replaced.  Long Beach selected the gasoline hybrid technology over compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled buses for being cleaner and requiring less fuel and maintenance.

For the ultimate in affordable clean buses an ISE hydrogen fueled hybrid-electric drive system integrated into another New Flyer bus uses a Ford internal combustion engine to virtually eliminate greenhouse gases from the exhaust along with the smog-forming NOx and health hazard particulate material (PM).  The prototype bus has been in Winnipeg Canada for cold weather testing and will do a demonstration tour of the East Coast for various agencies.

The ISE ThunderVolt® gasoline-hybrid buses meet the demanding performance requirements of full size, freeway-capable 40-foot transit buses – and have been operating with better than 96% availability since their deployment at the beginning of this year.  The Ford ultra-low emission Triton V10 gasoline engine is used only to generate electricity, and highly efficient, reliable electric motors drive the wheels. Result: the ThunderVolt® gasoline system was the first hybrid system certified by the California Air Resources Board - at an unprecedented level of 0.4 g/bhp-hr of NOx, with zero particulate matter.  Why purchase a conventional natural gas bus, when a 40-foot bus using ISE’s gasoline hybrid system produces lower emissions, improves fuel economy by at least 50% (as compared with conventional CNG), costs less to maintain, and requires no special refueling infrastructure?  In a transit agency clogged with high-cost propulsion systems that don’t meet their promises, ISE’s ThunderVolt® gasoline hybrid system is a breath of fresh air!

ISE offers a unique gasoline-fueled variant of the ThunderVolt® drive system, which combines a Ford ultra low emissions gasoline engine, Siemens drive motors and generator, batteries and other hybrid-electric drive components, and ISE's proprietary hybrid-electric technology. Features of buses using these drive systems include extremely low emission output, particularly oxides of nitrogen ("NOx") and particulate matter, with some improvement in fuel economy. Emissions testing of ISE"s first prototype gasoline hybrid bus (pictured below) in 2002 demonstrated its emissions reduction potential, prompting the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to certify ISE's gasoline hybrid system as a qualified "alternative fuel" for transit buses. In October 2003, the ISE gasoline hybrid system was formally certified by the ARB for sale in California.

ISE developed an upgraded, production version of the gasoline hybrid system in 2003. Complementing the Siemens components and upgraded ISE control system, the production version now incorporates Maxwell ultracapacitors for energy storage. This product is the only commercially available hybrid drive system for buses using gasoline fuel, which reduces emissions, and ultracaps, which improve performance and fuel economy. An added benefit of the ultracaps is that they are expected to last significantly longer than batteries, with less maintenance. As part of the gasoline hybrid system upgrade, ISE reconfigured the drive system package to make it easier for New Flyer and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to install the system into buses on their existing production lines. As indicated in the photo below, this design involves mounting of most drive system components on a single cradle assembly, which can then be installed into buses in a similar manner to how engines and transmissions are installed today.