UTC fuel cell reaches durability milestone

On Wednesday, UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. announced one of its latest generation PureMotion Model 120 fuel cell powerplants for hybrid-electric transit buses has surpassed 5,000 operating hours in real-world service with its original cell stacks and no cell replacements. This powerplant is aboard an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) bus operating in the Greater Oakland, Calif. area.

Three of AC Transit’s buses are equipped with the fuel cell systems and have now 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.

UTC Power has provided fuel cell power plants for fleet transportation since 1998 and its fuel cells have powered buses in the U.S., Spain, Italy and Belgium. The company’s latest-generation proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system has delivered more than 350,000 miles of commercial service for city transit bus fleets.