By working with a consortium of partners, including state, federal, local, private, and nonprofit entities, the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) made history when it introduced its new zero-emission fleet technology, including a 100 percent renewable hydrogen production station, as well as the nation’s first commercial deployment of 60-foot articulated hydrogen fuel cell electric buses.
Private and public partnerships were the backbone in bringing this vision to reality, supporting MTD’s efforts to deliver high quality traditional and innovative transportation services that are safe, reliable, environmentally responsible, and user friendly.
The project dates to 2017 when the MTD submitted a successful application to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the Low- or No-Emissions program, which resulted in a $1.45-million grant. The agency also secured other state and federal funding to cover 94 percent of the project through grants that support clean, zero-emission, and sustainable initiatives. MTD partnered with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) to plan the project and coordinate the various aspects.
Some of the companies that pooled their resources for the project include Trillium Transportation Fuels, which designed, built, and will operate and maintain the fueling station; Hembree Contracting completed much of the construction work of the station; PDC Machines and IVYS Energy Solutions supplied the compression and dispensing equipment as part of the station; Nel Hydrogen supplied the electrolyzer; and Ballard provided the fuel cell in the bus.