Sandia/California and neighboring Lawrence Livermore Lab have introduced hydrogen buses to their taxi shuttle fleets. The vehicles run on pure hydrogen, resulting in near zero CO2 emissions. (Photo by Jaqueline McBride, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.) Click on the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Lawrence Livermore and Sandia national laboratories will showcase two buses powered by hydrogen, now operating at both Livermore sites. The collaborative effort is part of a strategy for an energy sustainable future and cleaner environment.
The vehicles will be on display in downtown Livermore. The public is welcome to stop by and take a ride. Scientists will be on hand to answer questions about hydrogen technology and energy research conducted at the laboratories. In addition, a Toyota Prius equipped with a cryogenic tank will be on display, as well as a fuel cell mobile lighting system. Posters and brochures also will be available.
Leased from the Ford Motor Company, the buses use internal combustion engines, but are a bridge to vehicles that will use hydrogen fuel cells – the power train of the future.
The project is funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy /Fuel Cell Technologies Program. The DOE is actively engaged in market transformation efforts to demonstrate hydrogen technologies and educate the public about the safety, energy security and environmental advantages of hydrogen as a transportation fuel.
The event will take place Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 11 a.m. in the parking lot adjacent to the Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., downtown Livermore. RSVPs are not required.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Program conducts comprehensive efforts to overcome the technological, economic, and institutional obstacles to the widespread commercialization of fuel cells and related technologies. The program works with partners in industry, academia, non-profit institutions, and the national laboratories, and coordinates closely with other programs in four DOE offices – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Science, Fossil Energy, and Nuclear Energy. The mission for the program is to enable the widespread commercialization of fuel cells in diverse sectors of the economy with emphasis on applications that will most effectively strengthen our nations’ energy security and improve our stewardship of the environment.
Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.
Sandia media relations contact: Mike Janes, mejanes@sandia.gov (925) 294-2447