Summary of Fuel/Energy Costs for NREL Evaluation Projects

Leslie Eudy, NRELZEB Technology Showcase and SymposiumFebruary 6, 2019

NREL | 2

NREL Role in ZEB Evaluation

• 3rd Party evaluation of advanced technology in real-world service– Performance– Cost

• Established evaluation protocol provides consistent data collection and analysis for comparison

• Provide feedback to government (federal, state, local) to understand status and continue funding necessary R&D

• Share information with the transit industry that will aid in purchase decisions on the technology– Unbiased data in common format– Comparison to baseline technology

NREL | 3

NREL Zero Emission Bus EvaluationsBus 2018 2019 2020

Length 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4ZEBA Demonstration CA Oakland 40 13 AC Transit

CA Thousand Palms 40 1 SunLineCA Orange County 40 1 OCTAOH Canton, Cleveland 40 2 SARTA/GCRTA/OSUCA Irvine 40 1 UCI

AFCB (TIGGER) CA Thousand Palms 40 3 SunLineBattery Dominant AFCB (NFCBP) CA Thousand Palms 40 1 SunLine

CA Thousand Palms 40 5 SunLineOH Canton 40 5 SARTA

New Flyer FCEB (AQIP) CA Thousand Palms 40 5 SunLineAdvanced Generation FCEB (NFCBP CA Oakland 60 1 AC TransitOn-route Charge BEB (TIGGER) CA West Covina 35, 40 14 Foothill TransitPlug-in Charge BEB CA West Covina 40 14 Foothill TransitPlug-in Charge BEB (Low-No) CA Concord 29 4 County ConnectionPlug-in Charge BEB (TIGGER) CA Long Beach 40 10 Long Beach TransitPlug-in Charge BEB (Low-No) MN Duluth 40 6 Duluth TransitPlug-in Charge BEB (Low-No) PA Philadelphia 40 25 SEPTA

Color coded by Technology: Fuel cell dominant electric

Battery dominant fuel cell electric

Fast-charge battery electric

Plug-in battery electric

AFCB (Low-No)

Demonstration State City #

Buses

American Fuel Cell Bus (AFCB)

NREL Planned Zero Emission Bus Evaluations

Funding for NREL evaluations from: DOE, DOT’s Federal Transit Administration, California Air Resources Board.

NREL | 4

Recent FCEB Evaluation Sites

Transit Agency Location Bus OEM # Buses/ Length Data Period Station Description

AC Transit Oakland, CA Van Hool 13 /40 ft

Feb 2013-Jul 2017 2 stations, liquid H2 delivery/ electrolysis

SunLine Transit Agency Thousand Palms, CA ENC 10 /40 ft

Mar 2012 –Oct 2018

On-site production with SMR (new station will be on-site electrolysis)

Orange County Transportation Authority Santa Ana, CA ENC 1 /

40 ftMar 2016 –Dec 2018

Purchase from local retail stations (on-site station being built)

Stark Area Regional Transit Authority Canton, OH ENC 7 /

40 ftOct 2017 –Dec 2018 Liquid H2 delivery

AC Transit SunLine OCTA SARTA

NREL | 5

Hydrogen Cost Data Summary

Agency AC Transit1 SunLine2 OCTA3 SARTA4

Data period 2/13-7/17 3/12-10/18 3/16-12/18 2/18-12/18Number of months 54 80 34 11Average H2 cost, $/kg 8.39 10.17 13.95 5.14Maximum H2 cost, $/kg 10.26 26.02 16.99 5.88Minimum H2 cost, $/kg 6.49 2.53 12.99 5.00Overall FCEB fuel cost, $/mile 1.41 1.82 1.47 1.03Baseline technology Diesel CNG CNG CNG/diesel hybridAverage fuel cost, $/gal or gge 2.43 0.96 1.15 1.89 / 2.30Overall baseline fuel cost, $/mile 0.57 0.32 0.32 0.45 / 0.51

1 Delivered cost2 Includes station O&M3 Retail cost from local public stations 4 Delivered cost

Overall cost Comparison to baseline

Fuel cost is based on data provided by agencies, not all are equal comparisons

NREL | 6

0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.009.00

Fuel

Eco

nom

y, m

iles p

er d

geFCEB CNG Hybrid

0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.009.00

Feb-

13

May

-13

Aug-

13

Nov-

13

Feb-

14

May

-14

Aug-

14

Nov-

14

Feb-

15

May

-15

Aug-

15

Nov-

15

Feb-

16

May

-16

Aug-

16

Nov-

16

Feb-

17

May

-17

Fuel

Eco

nom

y, m

iles p

er d

ge

FCEB Diesel

0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.009.00

Mar

-12

Jul-1

2

Nov-

12

Mar

-13

Jul-1

3

Nov-

13

Mar

-14

Jul-1

4

Nov-

14

Mar

-15

Jul-1

5

Nov-

15

Mar

-16

Jul-1

6

Nov-

16

Mar

-17

Jul-1

7

Nov-

17

Mar

-18

Jul-1

8

Fuel

Eco

nom

y, m

iles p

er d

ge

FCEB CNG (2008) CNG (2016)

0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.009.00

Fuel

Eco

nom

y, m

iles p

er d

ge

FCEB CNG

Fuel Economy, Miles/Diesel Gallon Equivalent

AC Transit SunLine

OCTA SARTA

FCEB: 6.47Diesel: 4.25

FCEB: 6.31CNG: 3.32 (2008), 3.84 (2016)

FCEB: 7.22CNG: 3.92

FCEB: 5.64CNG: 4.76Hybrid: 4.55

NREL | 7

0.000.501.001.502.002.503.003.50

Cost

, $/m

ileFCEB CNG Hybrid

0.000.501.001.502.002.503.003.50

Mar

-16

May

-16

Jul-1

6

Sep-

16

Nov

-16

Jan-

17

Mar

-17

May

-17

Jul-1

7

Sep-

17

Nov

-17

Jan-

18

Mar

-18

May

-18

Jul-1

8

Sep-

18

Nov

-18

Cost

, $/m

ile

FCEB CNG

0.000.501.001.502.002.503.003.50

Mar

-12

Jul-1

2N

ov-1

2M

ar-1

3Ju

l-13

Nov

-13

Mar

-14

Jul-1

4N

ov-1

4M

ar-1

5Ju

l-15

Nov

-15

Mar

-16

Jul-1

6N

ov-1

6M

ar-1

7Ju

l-17

Nov

-17

Mar

-18

Jul-1

8

Cost

, $/m

ile

FCEB CNG

0.000.501.001.502.002.503.003.50

Feb-

13

May

-13

Aug-

13

Nov

-13

Feb-

14

May

-14

Aug-

14

Nov

-14

Feb-

15

May

-15

Aug-

15

Nov

-15

Feb-

16

May

-16

Aug-

16

Nov

-16

Feb-

17

May

-17

Cost

, $/m

ile

FCEB Diesel

Hydrogen Cost Data Summary, $/Mile

AC Transit SunLine

OCTA SARTA

FCEB: 1.41Diesel: 0.57

FCEB: 1.82CNG: 0.32

FCEB: 1.47CNG: 0.32

FCEB: 1.03CNG: 0.45Hybrid: 0.51

NREL | 8

Hydrogen Station Considerations

• High capital cost to start, but easier to scale up with increasing fleet size‒ Determine best option for station type: on-site production, delivered

(proximity to H2 supply will affect cost)‒ Work with provider on design: meet initial requirements, facilitate scale up‒ Scale up: add storage, add dispensers, more frequent deliveries‒ Source of H2 affects cost: methane reformation, renewables

• Turn-key stations where fuel provider owns, operates, and maintains station can help with stabilizing cost for long term budget planning

• Long term fuel contracts can lock in lower cost• Station utilization – higher volumes can mean lower per unit cost• Maximize bus efficiency – design/ driver training

NREL | 9

Recent BEB Evaluation sites

Transit Agency Location Bus OEM # Buses/ Length Data Period Charging Description

King County Metro Seattle, WA Proterra 4 /40 ft

Apr 2016-Mar 2017 On-route, fast-charge

Foothill Transit West Covina, CA Proterra 12 /35 ft

Apr 2014 –Jun 2018 On-route, fast-charge

County Connection Concord, CA Gillig 4 /29 ft

Jun 2017 –May 2018

Plug-in overnight, on-route inductive charger

Foothill Transit County ConnectionKing County Metro

NREL | 10

Electric Cost Data Summary

Agency Foothill Transit

County Connection

King County Metro

Data period 4/14-7/18 6/17-5/18 4/16-3/17Number of months 51 12 12Average energy cost, $/kWh 0.18 0.22 0.20Summer cost, $/kWh 0.21 0.25 0.19Winter cost, $/kWh 0.16 0.20 0.21Overall BEB energy cost, $/mile 0.46 0.73 0.57Baseline technology CNG Diesel Diesel / HybridAverage fuel cost, $/gal or gge 0.95 2.02 1.59Overall baseline fuel cost, $/mile 0.24 0.54 0.30 / 0.25

Overall cost Comparison to baseline

NREL | 11

Apr-1

4M

ay-1

4

Jun-

14Ju

l-14

Aug-

14

Sep-

14O

ct-1

4

Nov

-14

Dec

-14

Jan-

15

Feb-

15M

ar-1

5

Apr-1

5M

ay-1

5

Jun-

15Ju

l-15

Aug-

15

Sep-

15O

ct-1

5

Nov

-15

Dec

-15

Jan-

16

Feb-

16M

ar-1

6

Apr-1

6M

ay-1

6

Jun-

16Ju

l-16

Aug-

16

Sep-

16O

ct-1

6

Nov

-16

Dec

-16

Jan-

17

Feb-

17M

ar-1

7

Apr-1

7M

ay-1

7

Jun-

17Ju

l-17

Aug-

17

Sep-

17O

ct-1

7

Nov

-17

Dec

-17

Jan-

18

Feb-

18M

ar-1

8

Apr-1

8M

ay-1

8

Jun-

18

Aver

age

Month

0

5

10

15

20

25

Fuel

Eco

nom

y (m

pdge

)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Aver

age

Hig

h Te

mpe

ratu

re (

° F)

17.017.1

4.4

Apr-16May-16

Jun-16Jul-16

Aug-16Sep-16

Oct-16Nov-16

Dec-16Jan-17

Feb-17Mar-17

Average

Month

0

5

10

15

20

Fuel

Eco

nom

y (m

pdge

)

0

20

40

60

80

Aver

age

Hig

h Te

mpe

ratu

re (

° F)

15.9

14.7

6.35.3

Fuel Economy, Miles/Diesel Gallon EquivalentFoothill Transit

King County Metro County Connection

NREL | 12

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

Cost

, $/m

ile

BEB Diesel Hybrid

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20Ap

r-14

Jul-1

4

Oct

-14

Jan-

15

Apr-

15

Jul-1

5

Oct

-15

Jan-

16

Apr-

16

Jul-1

6

Oct

-16

Jan-

17

Apr-

17

Jul-1

7

Oct

-17

Jan-

18

Apr-

18

Cost

, $/m

ile

BEB (35 ft) CNG

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

Cost

, $/m

ile

BEB Diesel Trolley Diesel

Energy Cost Data Summary, $/Mile

Foothill Transit

King County Metro

County Connection

BEB: 0.46CNG: 0.24

BEB: 0.57Diesel: 0.30 Hybrid: 0.25

BEB: 0.73Diesel: 0.54

NREL | 13

Charging Cost Considerations

Understand electricity rate structure for better budget planning – does utility have special rates for EVs?

TOU-GS-1-A TOU-EV-4

Apr-1

4

May

-14

Jun-

14

Jul-1

4

Aug-

14

Sep-

14

Oct

-14

Nov

-14

Dec

-14

Jan-

15

Feb-

15M

ar-1

5

Apr-1

5

May

-15

Jun-

15

Jul-1

5

Aug-

15

Sep-

15

Oct

-15

Nov

-15

Dec

-15

Jan-

16

Feb-

16

Mar

-16

Apr-1

6

May

-16

Jun-

16

Jul-1

6

Aug-

16

Sep-

16

Oct

-16

Nov

-16

Dec

-16

Jan-

17

Feb-

17M

ar-1

7

Apr-1

7

May

-17

Jun-

17

Jul-1

7

Aug-

17

Sep-

17

Oct

-17

Nov

-17

Dec

-17

Jan-

18

Feb-

18M

ar-1

8

Apr-1

8

May

-18

Jun-

18

Month

$0.00

$0.05

$0.10

$0.15

$0.20

$0.25

$0.30

Elec

trici

ty C

ost p

er k

Wh

($/k

Wh)

On-Peak 1 Mid-Peak 1 Off-Peak 1 Demand 2 Taxes, Fees & Credits 3

1. On-Peak, Mid-Peak, and Off-Peak charge categories include respective costs for delivery and generation

2. Rate structure changed from TOU-GS-1-A to TOU-EV-4 February 2016, introducing demand charges

3. 'Taxes, Fees & Credits' category includes all remaining utility bill items (positive & negative charges)

Apr-16May-16

Jun-16Jul-16

Aug-16Sep-16

Oct-16Nov-16

Dec-16Jan-17

Feb-17Mar-17

Month

$0.00

$0.05

$0.10

$0.15

$0.20

$0.25

$0.30

Elec

trici

ty C

ost p

er k

Wh

($/k

Wh)

Tier 1 Charges 1 Tier 2 Charges 1 Demand Charges 2Taxes, Fees & Credits

3

1. Tier 1 electric rate is applied to the first 20,000 kWh used per month; Tier 2 rate is applied to all additional energy

2. Demand Charges are incurred for charging rates > 50 kW

3. 'Taxes, Fees & Credits' includes all remaining utility bill items (positive & negative charges)

NREL | 14

Charging Infrastructure Considerations• Infrastructure for BEBs is easier to introduce for small demonstrations but

challenging to scale up to larger fleets‒ Electrical upgrades to meet power requirements‒ Depot yard space and charger layout – may change traffic flow‒ Manpower to manage charging start/stop

• Work with utility to provide sufficient power for BEBs and plan for scale up• Incorporate smart charging solutions to mitigate time of use and demand

charges‒ Delayed charging time to avoid peak electric rates ‒ Manage bus charging: need sufficient time period to cycle through buses‒ Software to sync charging with planned service: buses with lower planned

operation for the day are not fully charged• Maximize bus efficiency – design/ driver training

NREL | 15

Initial ZEB Demonstration

Consider a short term demo of a ZEB to introduce the technology to the agency before making a commitment to purchase

• Many manufacturers are willing to schedule a short demo period– BYD– New Flyer– Proterra

• SARTA offers a borrow a bus program– Short term, no cost FCEB demo– Hydrogen fuel and technical support provided by ENC and BAE Systems– For more info: https://www.sartaonline.com/fuel-cell-powered-buses-can-

be-borrowed-from-sarta-at-no-charge

www.nrel.gov

Questions?Contact info: Email: Leslie.eudy@nrel.govPhone: 303-275-4412

Team members:Matt Post – FCEB evaluationsEmail: matthew.post@nrel.govPhone: 303-275-3829

Matt Jeffers – BEB evaluations Email: matthew.jeffers@nrel.govPhone: 303-275-3778

Web site for reports: https://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/fuel-cell-bus-evaluation.html