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By John O'Dell, Senior Editor


California's support of hydrogen as a transportation fuel - sometimes derided as an expensive pipe dream - has its moments.


We'll see one in the spring as the city of Burbank, Ca., home to comic Jay Leno's Tonight Show among other show biz attractions, starts operating the world's first plug-in hybrid bus that uses a hydrogen fuel-cell to augment its rechargable batteries.


Proterra, the Colorado-based developer and builder of the revolutionary zero-emissions hydrogen plug-in bus, claims that it can travel 250 miles on its grid-charged batteries and a tank of hydrogen before needing to be recharged, delivering twice the fuel economy of a diesel bus.


The big, blue, bug-eyed bus is made of lightweight composite materials and uses automotive fuel cells rather than larger cells developed specifically for hydrogen buses. The advantage, according to Proterra, is that the smaller 50 kilowatt (67 horsepower) fuel cells are much cheaper, reducing the initial cost of the bus as well as lifetime operating costs - a critical factor in these days of rapidly diminishing local government funding.


The bus also features a fast-charging system that enables its batteries to be fully recharged in just 6 minutes - less time than most drivers need for bathroom or coffee breaks.
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Tags: Alternative Fuels, Fuel Cell, Hydrogen, Transportation Alternatives, Burbank Bus, Fuel Cell Bus, Hydrogen Plug In Hybrid Bus

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Burbank to Test World's First Hydrogen Fuel-Cell, Plug-In Electric Hybrid Bus was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.