ORLANDO -- Central Florida's regional transportation authority is taking a stab at cleaner transportation, entering into an experiment to add four hydrogen-fueled vehicles to a stable of mostly diesel buses.

The demonstration project, which will kick off sometime this summer or early fall, is a joint effort among Lynx, Orlando International Airport and Orange County. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, with the exception of insurance and routine maintenance, will cover all costs associated with the project, including fuel.

Nicole Barber, manager of the hydrogen program at DEP, says "these vehicles are the first of their kind" and Orlando will be the first to experience these new vehicles, which look like regular shuttle buses except for what's under the hood.
$250,000 per shuttle

Lynx will get four nine-passenger Ford hydrogen V-10 E-450 shuttles that are handicap-accessible for the project, which is expected to last 24 to 36 months. Orange County and the airport each will get two.

The vehicles, which have 225 horsepower, run on 5,000 psi compressed gaseous hydrogen tanks. They can travel about 150 miles on a tank, versus about 300 miles for a typical gasoline-fueled vehicle.

The hydrogen-powered engine provides near-zero regulated and carbon dioxide emissions, with the ultimate goal of the project making hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines the powertrain of the future.

According to a vehicle cost summary distributed by Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), a participation fee of $250,000 per shuttle bus will be charged for the agreement, which Barber says is what it costs Ford to build the shuttles.

In 2004, the Legislature appropriated more than $3 million for hydrogen projects and this is one of the projects being funded.

It will cost DEP $2 million for the vehicles and $1.4 million for an independent hydrogen-fueling facility being built at Boggy Creek Road near the airport.

"I see this as very important because of America's heavy reliance on fossil fuels," says Linda Watson, chief executive of Lynx, which currently has 228 vehicles that run on diesel fuel.

"Only about 17 percent of the fixed bus routes in this country are operating on alternative fuel right now, and we have an opportunity to increase that figure and find a solution for the future."

Ford and the DEP's Hydrogen Project Florida Energy Office will monitor the vehicles and collect data on the vans' routes.
Ford warranty up in air

Lynx is looking to use the environmental-friendly additions as a neighborhood regulator on a fixed route, Watson says.

The shuttle bus can hold 30 kilograms of hydrogen, and 1 kilogram of hydrogen has the same amount of energy as 1 gallon of gasoline. It currently costs $8 per kilogram for hydrogen and that number is expected to decrease in the coming years, Barber says.

Ford will take the products back after the lease is up and further inspect the models for wear and tear.

"This is new to them and they don't know what kind of warranty to offer for this product yet," Barber says. "The goal is we would eventually receive new and improved models for future service in Florida."

Suresh Chandnani, southeast regional manager for BEM Systems Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Orlando, was pleased to hear the news.

"This would be considered one of the better pilot programs in terms of community efforts to improve the ambient air quality in Orange County," Chandnani says.