UPS to Test Fuel Cell Vehicles in U.S. Delivery Fleet
UPS has announced a joint project with the U.S. EPA and DaimlerChrysler in which the company will operate delivery vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
UPS, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and DaimlerChrysler, have announced a collaborative project in which UPS will operate package delivery vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
The deployment of the zero-emission vehicles, in two different sizes, will begin late this year and continue in 2004 and will be the first use of fuel cell technology in a commercial delivery fleet in North America.
"It's time to deploy this technology in a commercial fleet and learn exactly what's needed to make it broadly available," said Tom Weidemeyer, chief operating officer of UPS and president of UPS Airlines. "These vehicles are going to be rolling laboratories. Environmental improvements like this and the needs of business are not incompatible."
DaimlerChrysler will supply the fuel cell vehicles for UPS, while the EPA will supply a hydrogen refueling station at its Ann Arbor facility. The fueling station will be operational by the end of 2003 and will provide compressed hydrogen fuel to the UPS vehicles as well as other fuel-cell cars in the area.
The first fuel cell vehicle to be tested by UPS will be a DaimlerChrysler "F-Cell," which will be used for early-morning deliveries by late 2003. In 2004, UPS will add one or more fuel cell-powered Sprinter delivery vans to its fleet. There are currently 2,500 Sprinter vehicles in UPS's domestic and international fleets. Sprinters normally are powered by a highly fuel-efficient diesel engine and are certified as ultra low emission vehicles under EPA guidelines.
Fuel cells convert chemical energy -- in this case, hydrogen's reaction with oxygen -- into electricity without combustion. The reaction of hydrogen and oxygen produce water vapor and heat as its only by-products, or emissions. The lack of any exhaust emissions makes fuel cell technology the ultimate alternative fuel.
The fuel cell vehicles will join an already large number of alternative fuel vehicles in UPS's fleet. UPS operates 1,024 compressed natural gas vehicles in the United States, the largest private fleet in the nation. In addition, the company operates more than 800 propane-powered vehicles in Canada and Mexico City; liquefied natural gas tractors in its West Coast fleet and an assortment of all-electric vehicles in its operating facilities. UPS began testing hybrid electric technology in 1998 and made history in 2001 by introducing the industry's first hybrid electric vehicle into its operations.
The deployment of the zero-emission vehicles, in two different sizes, will begin late this year and continue in 2004 and will be the first use of fuel cell technology in a commercial delivery fleet in North America.
"It's time to deploy this technology in a commercial fleet and learn exactly what's needed to make it broadly available," said Tom Weidemeyer, chief operating officer of UPS and president of UPS Airlines. "These vehicles are going to be rolling laboratories. Environmental improvements like this and the needs of business are not incompatible."
DaimlerChrysler will supply the fuel cell vehicles for UPS, while the EPA will supply a hydrogen refueling station at its Ann Arbor facility. The fueling station will be operational by the end of 2003 and will provide compressed hydrogen fuel to the UPS vehicles as well as other fuel-cell cars in the area.
The first fuel cell vehicle to be tested by UPS will be a DaimlerChrysler "F-Cell," which will be used for early-morning deliveries by late 2003. In 2004, UPS will add one or more fuel cell-powered Sprinter delivery vans to its fleet. There are currently 2,500 Sprinter vehicles in UPS's domestic and international fleets. Sprinters normally are powered by a highly fuel-efficient diesel engine and are certified as ultra low emission vehicles under EPA guidelines.
Fuel cells convert chemical energy -- in this case, hydrogen's reaction with oxygen -- into electricity without combustion. The reaction of hydrogen and oxygen produce water vapor and heat as its only by-products, or emissions. The lack of any exhaust emissions makes fuel cell technology the ultimate alternative fuel.
The fuel cell vehicles will join an already large number of alternative fuel vehicles in UPS's fleet. UPS operates 1,024 compressed natural gas vehicles in the United States, the largest private fleet in the nation. In addition, the company operates more than 800 propane-powered vehicles in Canada and Mexico City; liquefied natural gas tractors in its West Coast fleet and an assortment of all-electric vehicles in its operating facilities. UPS began testing hybrid electric technology in 1998 and made history in 2001 by introducing the industry's first hybrid electric vehicle into its operations.
