Ballard will be providing 20 of its FCveloCity-HD 85-kilowatt fuel cell systems to New Flyer of America Inc., a subsidiary of New Flyer Industries Inc., the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America. Ballard systems will power New Flyer 40-foot Xcelsior XHE40 fuel cell buses, which are planned to be delivered and in-service with AC Transit and OCTA by the end of 2018. The buses are to be supported by advanced hydrogen fueling infrastructure provided by The Linde Group.

The New Flyer Xcelsior buses, powered by Ballard, have a range of approximately 500 kilometers (311 miles), can be refueled in less than 10 minutes without the need for overnight plug-in battery recharging, can replace conventional buses without compromising operational performance, and generate zero tailpipe emissions.

Ballard has powered buses for more than a cumulative 10 million kilometers (6.2 million miles) in revenue service—more than any other fuel cell company—and New Flyer has been very active in the North American fuel cell electric bus market. These efforts have contributed to improving the durability and reliability of these buses while demonstrating fuel economy 1.4x higher than diesel buses and 1.9x higher than CNG buses, according to an NREL report.

This Fuel Cell Electric Bus Commercialization Consortium is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities.