New Flyer of America Inc. and New Flyer Industries Canada ULC, subsidiaries of NFI Group Inc. (“NFI”), the largest bus manufacturer in North America, unveiled the Xcelsior CHARGE H2—ts fuel cell-electric heavy-duty transit bus—and announced that both the forty-foot and sixty-foot model have successfully completed the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Model Bus Testing Program at Altoona, Pennsylvania (Altoona Testing).
This makes the Xcelsior CHARGE H2 the first sixty-foot fuel cell-electric bus to complete Altoona, and establishes New Flyer as the only manufacturer to offer both a forty-foot and sixty-foot fuel cell-electric model that qualifies for federal funding.
With a range of up to 300 miles (483 km), the bus can be refueled in 6-20 minutes depending on the model and operating conditions, and requires no overnight plug-in electrical re-charging. The Xcelsior CHARGE H2 also features regenerative braking while decelerating, which recharges the batteries and reduces energy consumption for extending range. The only tailpipe output is clean water vapor.
New Flyer has more than 50 years of experience manufacturing zero-emission buses (ZEBs). It introduced its next-generation battery-electric bus, the Xcelsior CHARGE in 2017. With the addition of the Xcelsior CHARGE H2, New Flyer offers the most diverse lineup of commercially available zero-emission transit buses in North America, and remains the only North American manufacturer to provide all three types of ZEB propulsion systems: trolley-electric, all battery-electric, and fuel-cell-electric.
New Flyer is currently delivering 25 Xcelsior CHARGE H2 fuel cell-electric buses to three transit agencies as part of California Climate Investments (CCI). CCI is a statewide initiative 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, low-income communities, and low-income households.
New Flyer currently has significant ZEB orders from major cities including Toronto, Boston, Minneapolis, New York, Portland, and Vancouver. In California alone, New Flyer has sold nearly 80 battery-electric buses, with active programs in Coachella Valley, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange County, and San Diego. Since 1972, New Flyer has delivered more than 10,000 buses to the state of California, beginning with zero-emission trolley-electric buses.
Aaron is an automotive journalist living in Wyoming, USA. His background includes technology, mechanics, commercial vehicles, and new vehicle evaluations. Aaron is a member of several automotive media groups and writes for many well-known publications.