"If the market requires it, we want to," said Enzo Bauk, director of engineering for California-based electric bus maker Ebus Inc.

The 22-foot bus, which operates on a hydrogen fuel cell and batteries, was in Chattanooga on Wednesday en route to the University of Delaware, where it will undergo testing as a shuttle, Mr. Bauk said.

Ebus owns seven acres of property off Lee Highway that it uses for customer support and engineering, he said. It bought the property and two buildings in 2004 from former electric bus maker Advanced Vehicle Systems when the company shut down.

Jim Frierson, executive director of the Chattanoogabased Advanced Transportation Technology Institute, said he'd like to see the new technology demonstrated in the city.

ATTI already is in a research partnership with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and UTC is open to looking at remaking its existing shuttle bus loop.

"I'd love to see a staging ground for smart and clean technology," Mr. Frierson said.

If the vehicle were run purely on batteries, it would go about 75 miles before recharging is needed, he said. But the electricity-producing fuel cell extends the range to up to 250 miles, Mr. Bauk said.

The hybrid bus, unlike a diesel-powered vehicle, emits only water in liquid and vapor form, he said.

Mr. Bauk said the company's second fuel-cell bus is slated to go to the University of Texas later this year.

The city has a history in electric bus use. The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority operates a fleet of battery-powered, electric buses on its downtown shuttle route.

Ebus was founded in 1998. To date, the company has delivered about 100 electric and hybrid electric buses across the United States.