Energy Department Lab in Colorado Expands Hybrid Shuttle Bus Fleet

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the only U.S. federal laboratory dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency research, development, and commercialization, has installed its second fuel-efficient, hydraulic hybrid system on a passenger shuttle bus for the lab’s 632-acre campus in Golden, Colo.

The hydraulic hybrid system, made by Colorado-based Lightning Hybrids, is now running on two of NREL’s campus shuttle buses in Golden, Colorado. According to the company, the hybrid system “makes the buses cleaner, more fuel efficient and improves their braking efficiency.”

The first Lightning Hybrids bus has been in service on NREL’s campus for more than a year, and the second bus went into service last month. The buses, both Ford E-450s, are run by MV Transportation, NREL’s service provider for their shuttle service. MV transports more than 500 NREL employees and visitors around the campus.

Noted Tim Reeser, CEO of Lightning Hybrids, “To have NREL use our Lightning Hybrids product to serve their campus and their team is an endorsement of the quality and engineering of our hydraulic hybrid system.”

NREL works with public and private organizations to research and develop innovative vehicle and sustainable technologies to reduce dependence on fossil fuels to improve U.S. energy security as well as air quality.

The hybrid initiative is not without inspiration. An executive order issued by the White House in March 2015 (Executive Order 13693, titled “Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade”) calls for tougher goals for renewable energy in federal buildings and fleets. NREL is leading the way by employing advanced technology in their campus fleet with the two hydraulic hybrids from Lightning Hybrids.

The system from Lightning Hybrids is a patented, parallel hydraulic hybrid system that has no electric batteries. Instead, it applies a hydraulic system to the driveline of a vehicle to regenerate braking energy. Hydraulic pumps and a lightweight accumulator brake the vehicle, store the braking energy, and then use that stored energy to provide power to the wheels. In doing so, fuel is saved and harmful emissions are cut.

Category: Featured, Green