ORLD USE
1. PROJECT GOALS
As a result of the increasingly serious health dangers posed by urban air pollution, government
agencies all over the world are mandating standards to reduce airborne emissions and
greenhouse gases from motor vehicles. In the United States, for example, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), through the 1990 Clean Air Act, and CARB (California Air Resources
Board) have both passed regulations to curb emissions. In Canada, the federal government has
announced a CDN$ 500 million program to reduce emissions and greenhouse gases. European
countries have also established emissions standards (Euro Standards) to reduce emissions,
and the United Nations Development Program, Global Environment Fund and the World Bank
are introducing programs to reduce greenhouse gases in developing countries.
XCELLSIS and Ballard have the firm belief that the fuel cell engine is the most promising clean-
energy appliance to date. The XCELLSIS/Ballard Phase 3 Fuel Cell Testing Program sought to
prove the validity of this statement in urban transit applications over an extended period of time,
and in real-world conditions. Two communities with an obvious commitment to clean-air
solutions participated in the testing process: Chicago, Illinois, under the Chicago Transit
Authority, and Vancouver, British Columbia, through that regions Coast Mountain Bus
Company.
Note: At the time of writing of the major part of this report, XCELLSIS was owned approximately
51% by DaimlerChrysler, 22% by Ford and 27% by Ballard. In December 2001, Ballard acquired
100% ownership of XCELLSIS. Any references to XCELLSIS/Ballard should be considered
Ballard at the present time.
2. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
The four-year-long Phase 3 program was conducted in two major urban transportation markets:
Chicago, Illinois and Vancouver, British Columbia, under normal, real world, revenue-generating
conditions, and in all types of weather. It began in June 1996 with construction of six prototype
buses in cooperation with both transit authorities. A pre-delivery test phase began in July 1997,
followed by a non-revenue test phase in both cities in 1998.
2.1 Objectives of the Phase 3 test program
The final part of the test was a two-year public service implementation with three buses in each
city, starting March 16, 1998 in Chicago and ending June 30, 2000 in Vancouver. The objectives
of the Phase 3 Program were to:

Learn about fuel cell technology in real, everyday operation and to transfer that learning to
subsequent engine and component development phases

Gain an understanding of vehicle performance, failures, and operating costs

Better understand the infrastructure required for the operation of this technology

Prepare the market for the entrance of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs)

Educate the public on the safety and reliability of FCVs

Prepare and train potential transit customers to work with FCVs

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2.2 Fueling infrastructure
Hydrogen is generally manufactured by one of two methods: from water via electrolysis, where
electricity separates H
2
O into its constituent parts of hydrogen and oxygen, and from fossil fuels,
such as methanol or natural gas, where the H
2
is extracted from the hydrocarbon molecule.
In Vancouver, H
2
from electrolysis was manufactured and supplied by Stuart Energy. Taking
nine months to design and build, Stuart delivered the electrolytic fuel appliance to BC Transits
bus garage in Port Coquitlam. Modifications included upgrading of two bus bays at the
perimeter of the garage. The fuel storage system and refueling station were provided through a
lease arrangement with Stuart Energy. The system was fully commissioned, with fueling
receptacles and filling posts installed, by the end of March 1998. Shortly thereafter, the buses
arrived at the site and underwent acceptance testing by BC Transit. In June 1998, the buses
were accepted and deployed to routes. In September the buses entered revenue service. In the
first year of revenue service, from September 1998 to October 1999, the station operated
approximately 1500 hours producing over 100,000 Nm³ of compressed hydrogen fuel. It took
approximately four hours to fill a bus, because of limitations in production rate and ground
storage capacity.
In Chicago, Air Products supplied hydrogen in liquid form from a process plant in southern
Ontario. The refueling operation for hydrogen is essentially the same as for CNG. The fueling
station used Air Products liquid storage (gaseous, on board the bus). It took approximately 15
minutes to fill a bus. In this case, modifications were required to upgrade a large covered bus
garage where the buses were maintained and parked in the center of the garage. This included
safety and ventilation systems. The fuel storage system and refueling station were leased from
Air Products.
It should be noted that H
2
fueling systems are in early stages of development. Current systems
have the capability of fueling a bus in less than 10 minutes. As is the case with any transit
agency using fuel cell buses, fueling and maintenance facilities included safety systems
comprising H
2
sensors and ventilation systems. Costs of the installations depend on the process
selected, the number of fuel cell buses in the fleet and the extent of maintenance facility
upgrades required.
2.3 Project partners
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the second-largest transit system in the United
States. The CTA provides transportation to a service area population of 3.7 million people in
Chicago and 38 surrounding suburbs with a fleet of 1875 diesel-powered buses and 1190
electric rail cars. On an average weekday, approximately 1 million passenger rides are provided
on the bus system and over 0.5 million on the rail system. On a daily basis, the CTA travels over
306,000 km (190,000 miles) on 134 bus routes and over 291,000 km (181,000 miles) on seven
major rail routes.
Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is a subsidiary of TransLink, the Greater Vancouver
Transportation Authority, which is responsible for public transit, roads and bridges,
transportation demand management and the AirCare vehicle emissions testing program in the
region. The CMBC (formerly part of BC Transit) fleet is the third largest in Canada, consisting of
750 diesel-powered buses, 50 CNG-powered buses and 244 electrically powered trolleys.

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XCELLSIS is jointly owned by DaimlerChrysler (51.5%), The Ford Motor Company (21.8%) and
Ballard Power Systems (26.7%). XCELLSIS is the leading developer of fuel cell engines for
light-and heavy-duty automotive applications. Its heavy-duty division in Burnaby, BC, and
Ballard Power Systems were jointly responsible for developing and testing the Phase 3 bus
fleet.
Ballard Power Systems is recognized as the world leader in developing, manufacturing and
marketing zero-emission proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for transportation,
electricity generation and portable power products. The fundamental component of these
products is the Ballard fuel cell that combines hydrogen and oxygen without combustion to
generate electricity.
Stuart Energy is a world leader in the development and provision of electrolyser hydrogen fuel
appliances. It is based in Toronto, Ontario with additional offices in Grand-Mère, Québec,
Vancouver, British Columbia, and Pasadena, California. Stuart Energy supplied the electrolyser
and fueling facilities at Coast Mountain Bus Company.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania and employs more than
17,000 people in over 30 countries. A leading worldwide supplier of industrial gases, related
equipment and selected chemicals, Air Products has applied its expertise to the safe production,
storage and handling of hydrogen, as well as to fueling station design and construction. Air
Products supplied fueling facilities for Chicago Transit.
Other Partners
In addition to the transit authorities, funders of the Phase 3 program included the Province of
British Columbia (Ministry of Employment and Investment), the Regional Transportation
Authority of Northeastern Illinois, and the U.S. Federal Transportation Administration (FTA),
utilizing Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ) funds.

3. DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTS
3.1 Fuel cell engine
The Ballard proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is the basis of the XCELLSIS fuel cell
engine. Developed and manufactured by Ballard Power Systems Inc. of Burnaby, BC, it
separates hydrogen electrons from the nuclei of hydrogen molecules through a thin polymer
proton exchange membrane, harnesses the current they generate on their migration back to a
cathode, then recombines them with the dissociated protons and oxygen from the air to create
two byproducts: heat and pure water vapor. Individual fuel cells produce about 0.6 volts and are
combined into a fuel cell stack to produce the amount of electricity required to power a vehicle.
The XCELLSIS fuel cell engine is shown in Figure 1. It consists of devices to regulate fuel and
oxidant streams, generate electrical power, provide cooling, supply lubrication, manage
electrical output and control the system processes. Electrical energy from the fuel cell engine is
delivered to the traction motor, which provides mechanical power to turn a drive shaft. The
hydrogen fuel cell engine is a zero-emission engine.


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Figure 1: XCELLSIS fuel cell engine
Figure 2: Schematic picture of XCELLSIS/Ballard fuel cell bus
3.2 Fuel c