The project delegation conducted a study tour to the USA from Nov.14~22, 2003, participated in EVS-20 (20th international electric vehicle symposium) and later attended a special "International Fuel Cell Bus Workshop", hosted by US Electric Drive Transportation Association. A summary of activities and visits is as follows.

　　1. UTC Fuel Cell

　　UTC Fuel Cell is a subsidiary of United Technologies, (formerly known as International Fuel Cells), located in South Windsor, Connecticut. UTC FC is a globally recognized leader in developing PEMFC with a proprietary ambient-pressure air supply technology.

　　Our visit on Nov.18, 2003 was warmly received by UTC FC senior staffs, including:

　　Mr. Jim Bolch, Vice President, Operation; Mr. Gordon Boggie, Manager, Fleet Vehicle Program; Mr. Vincent Callagham, Technical Manager, Commercial Vehicles, and Mr. Martin.

　　Mr. Bolch gave a comprehensive introduction of UTC FC. In early 1960s, UTC FC developed the on board electricity generation system by FC technology for space vehicles. It started with the well-known Apollo mission in 1966 and continued through today's space shuttle program. UTC FC is a large FC power station developer and manufacture. It has delivered more than 220 units of PC25 power system, which produces 200 kW of electricity and 900000 BTU's of heat to customers in 19 countries on five continents.

　　The fuel cell with ambient-pressure air uses an air blower instead of a costly air compressor (usually at 2~3 bar). It features a system with minimal energy loss, greater fuel efficiency, lower noise level, less complexity and lower cost. UTC FC supplies its FC systems to a number of automotive corporations, including Nissan, Hyundai, and BMW. It is also used on FC buses made by ISE Research in US and the Iris bus in Europe.

　　Mr. Bolch expressed interest of UTC FC in the GEF-UNDP China FCB project and will discuss with his partners for participation in this project.

　　Three program managers; Mr. Erika Herz, Mr. Ivelisse Boerenko and Ms. Margaret Steinbugler gave presentations on the progress of the 1st(old), the 2nd(current), and the 3rd(developing) generation of UTC FC systems. The 3rd generation FC system will be commercialized by March of 2005.

　　Prof. Ouyang also introduced the background, purpose and progress of the Chinese FC Bus project and the next steps for taking this project forward.

　　We had a very good exchange and discussion to achieve more understanding on both sides. A short laboratory tour concluded our visit. Finally we expressed our gratitude and welcome UTC FC to contact our office for any further questions.

　　2 Enova Systems

　　Enova is one of the well-known EV propulsion system suppliers. Its products include complete propulsion and power management systems for the OEM vehicle manufacturers. Besides supplying power conversion, energy management, electric motor and its controller, it also engineers system integration with advanced batteries, turbine generators and fuel cell systems. Enova is located in Torrance CA. Our visit was carried out in the afternoon of Nov.19. We were hosted by the following gentlemen: Mr. Carl Dean Perry, President and CEO; Mr. Edward M. Moore, VP, Marketing & Sales; Mr. Don Kang, VP, Engineering; and Mr. Abas Goodarzi, Chief of Technology.

　　Mr. Perry gave a general introduction of Enova and their cooperation to develop EV, HEV and FC vehicles with Ford, Hyundai, UTC, and Capstone Turbine etc. These efforts resulted in Ford's FC sedan Focus, and ECO Power Technology' hybrid buses. We were shown Enova products and their lab facilities. Mr. Kang and Dr. Goodarzi gave us a good introduction to their products, technologies and service. Our team member introduced the Chinese FC Bus project to them. Enova showed their interest in supporting the development of the Chinese FC Bus program and wish to play a role as a potential technology, components or systems supplier.

　　3. ISE Research

　　ISE Research was founded in 1994 and is located in San Diego, CA. Our group visited ISE on Nov.21 2003. Our visit started in the morning with a tour of ISE Products, HEV buses and main propulsion components. A meeting and discussion followed in the afternoon with ISE senior and technical staff, including: Mr. David Mazaika, President &CEO; Mr. Michael Simon, Chairman of board; Mr. Jurgen Schulte, Chief Mechanical Engineer; and other engineers: Mr. Scott, Mr. Chiao, Mr. Stone etc.

　　ISE focused exclusively on supplying Battery-Powered EV and ICE-Battery Powered hybrid EV drive systems and components for large vehicles (buses, trucks, trams and other heavy-duty commercial vehicles). It also offers related services, such as engineering, design, manufacturing and technical consultation. So far, about 25 Internal Combustion Engine and Battery Powered hybrid buses have been made and demonstrated with revenue service.

　　The first 30-ft. FC bus was developed by Thunder Power, LLC, which is a joint venture created by ISE research and THOR Industries in 2002. Its accumulated operation mileage was about 9000 miles within in a half-year duration from September of 2002 to February of 2003. In this period, Sunline Transit in Palm Springs offered revenue service for 3 ? months. ISE's first 30-ft. FC bus used a hybrid configuration with UTC FC Engine. The bus showed good reliability (about 71% availability of the days in the half year duration the bus was in service). It features low noise level (65db in the cabin), and low fuel consumption (equivalent to 8-11 mpg as compared to 5.5 mpg for a standard diesel bus). It was said that ISE has signed an agreement with AC Transit (Oakland, CA) and Sunline (Palm Springs, CA) to supply a total of four 40-feet FC buses by 2005.

　　We had a good exchange and discussion. ISE showed their interest in GEF-UNDP China FC Bus project. They will consider how to participate in the project after the bidding document is released.

　　4. Meeting with leaders of FC programs from Georgetown University and ECr -Technologies, Inc.

　　We had a meeting with the leaders of FC Programs from Georgetown University and ECr-Technologies Inc. on Nov 20, in Long Beach, CA. The attendees included: Mr. James T. Larkins, Program Manager, Fuel Cell Bus program, Georgetown University; Mr. Samuel Romano, Principle Investigator of Fuel Cell Programs, Georgetown University; and Mr. Hans J. Koellner, Senior Vice President, ECr-Technologies, Inc.

　　Georgetown University (GTU) is one of the pioneers of FC bus transportation in the world. GTU is leading a team to develop the FC bus, sponsored by US Department of Transportation. Its first FC bus with phosphoric acid fuel cell was developed in 1994. In recent years, a PEM FC bus with hybrid configuration has been demonstrated on Campus in Washington D.C. The information exchange was actually among 3 parties. Mr. Larkins said that GTU would not directly participate in China FC Bus Project, but will be very happy to share their experiences with us. On the other hand, Mr. Kaellner of ECr was interested in the China FC Bus project and would like to find a China-based partner. For this, ECr has completed a pre-feasibility study and a preliminary proposal.

　　We thanked GTU for their kindness and welcome any proposal from ECr.

　　5. Meeting with representatives of Hyundai Motors Corp.

　　We had a meeting with two representatives of Hyundai Motors Corp on Nov.15 in long Beach, CA. Mr. Wallace, who is our Chief Technical Advisor joined this meeting too. Hyundai has spent great efforts in developing EV, HEV and FCV. Its FCV, Santa Fe SUV, was demonstrated in CaFCP and earned awards in efficiency, noise and emission test of Bibendum Challenge 2001. Dr. Lim of Hyundai gave us a brief introduction on Hyundai's FC Bus program and expressed their interest in the China FC Bus project. We introduced our current progress on this project and expressed welcome to Hyundai's participation. Both sides promised to keep in touch in promoting the China FC Bus project.