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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Electric bus gets boosts
Winnipeg Transit partners with New Flyer, Ottawa kicks in $3.4M
From left, New Flyer CEO Paul Soubry, Sustainable Development Technology Canada vice-president Sailesh Thaker and Elmwood-Transcona Conservative MP Lawrence Toet board a bus at Flyer plant at announcement of federal funding. (JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
In a couple of years, some of the world's first battery-powered buses will pick up Winnipeg commuters on their way to work.
Winnipeg Transit has agreed to take part in a four-year in-service evaluation of bus-builder New Flyer Industries' latest alternative-fuel bus innovation -- rapid-charge, battery-electric bus propulsion.
The development of that bus took another big step forward Friday.
New Flyer is the largest urban bus-maker in North America, but it appreciates having partners in the $10-million cost to get battery-powered buses ready to market.
On Friday, New Flyer announced it would receive $3.4 million from the federal government's Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) fund.
That goes with the $1-million commitment over three years New Flyer received from the province.
In addition to Winnipeg Transit and the two levels of government, core partners include the Japanese equipment company Mitsubishi, which is working with New Flyer to design the batteries, Red River College, which is designing the packaging for the batteries, and Manitoba Hydro, which is helping design the charging station.
"You couldn't ask for better collaboration partners," New Flyer CEO Paul Soubry said.
The federal funding will drive the project through the next few years. It will include production of four additional prototypes next year, leading to extensive testing of the equipment by the Winnipeg Transit Authority, likely starting in 2014.
The SDTC is a 10-year-old fund that allots money to clean-technology projects on their way to commercialization. Since its creation, it has doled out $560 million to 230 projects across the country.
SDTC vice-president Sailesh Thaker said in many ways, the New Flyer project is right in the fund's sweet spot.
"Our mandate is to help commercialize technology," Thaker said. "The things that are important to us are innovation and a need to be able to see the market potential is there and the ability of the organization to take it to market. And we need to see that there will be an environmental benefit to those who use the technology. When we looked at New Flyer and their team and the stage the technology was at, which is almost ready to be road-tested, we saw all the components were there."
As experienced and well-established in the market as New Flyer is, an operator partner was crucial.
Winnipeg Transit director Dave Wardrop is thrilled to be part of the team.
"We're very excited about exploring and partnering in the development and testing of this very innovative technology," Wardrop said.
The super-quiet bus looks identical to any other models New Flyer makes.
Soubry and New Flyer engineers figure it will likely save operators about $500,000 in diesel-fuel costs over the 12-year life of the bus and reduce maintenance costs as there is no diesel engine to maintain.
"We think a good portion of what we build in the future will be electric," Soubry said.
As for when market demand will materialize, "It's not a matter of if, but when."
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 27, 2012 B10
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