The SunLine Transit Agency in Thousand Palms,
Calif., continues to spread the word internationally about the use of hydrogen as a
transportation fuel.
At the invitation of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport,
William L. Clapper Jr., executive director of SunLine Services Group, gave a presentation
titled "Lessons Learned from a Fuel Cell Vehicle Demonstration Project" at the
Fuel Cell Vehicle international Symposium held March 2 in Tokyo. About 300 industry
participants involved in fuel cell vehicle projects around the world were in attendance.
Also, Clapper and SunLine General Manager/Chief Executive officer Richard Cromwell III
are coming to Washington March 6 to 8 to address the National Hydrogen Association
conference.
Cromwell noted that since SunLine opened its hydrogen generation/dispensing and
education facility last April, steady streams of international visitors, many from Japan,
have visited the agency's headquarters to witness the progress of this zero-emission fuel
of the future.
"The opportunity to present SunLine's role in international scientific events is a
tribute to the pro-alternate fuels vision our board of directors fostered in 1992,"
Clapper added. "Through their leadership, SunLine has achieved international
recognition and strong support from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and
the Federal Transit Administration for their ability to contribute to scientific research
while also providing safe, reliable transit services."
SunLine is currently testing a zero-emission, pre-commercial hydrogen fuel cell transit
bus for Canadian-based XCELLSIS, a fuel cell engine company. Although Sun-Line's fleet of
46 buses runs primarily on compressed natural gas, the agency recently acquired two
Hythane buses that ran on a mixture of 80 percent CNG and 20
percent hydrogen.
Beginning in 2003, the agency plans to be the "beta test site" for as many as
10 fuel cell buses through its associate membership in the California Fuel Cell
Partnership. To prepare for this development, SunLine is already reforming hydrogen from
natural gas to power hydrogen buses.
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