BAE Systems will supply electric power an propulsion systems for three hydrogen fuel-cell buses ordered by the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority in New York.
The company’s Gen3 electric drive system will be part of ElDorado National’s Axess Evo-FC H2 fuel cell buses. The Rochester-Genesee RTA is decarbonizing its fleet and also has ordered five hydrogen fuel cell buses from another supplier.
The acquisition is funded by federal funds.
The BAE electric propulsion system is integrated with a 125-kW Progen hydrogen fuel cell engine from Plug Power. Plug also is supplying fueling infrastructure for the project.
Hydrogen is energy density and does not contain carbon so would not emit CO2 upon its combustion. Fuel cell technologies take a fuel like H2 or methane gas and uses oxygen in a process to create electrical current which can then converted to run motors and drives.
The Gen3 Series-H system uses an electric motor, energy storage and modular power electronics. Systems will be manufactured at a Bae facility in Endicott, New York.
Earlier this month, news announced that Rochester-Genesee RTA was acquiring five H2 fuel cell buses as part of a federally funded transaction with Fenton Mobility products and EV-sector partner Ideanomics.
US Hybrid, a subsidiary of Ideanomics, will assemble the hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system and manufacture associated parts at its facility in Torrance, California, while Fenton will carry out the installation of hydrogen propulsion kits into the vans.
The state of New York has established a target for several transit systems, including RGRTA, to completely convert fleets to zero-emission vehicles by 2035, and hydrogen is seen as a significant clean energy solution to accomplish these goals. Rochester is the fourth biggest city and market in New York.
