Purolator “greening” their fleet

TORONTO, (Feb. 26, 2004) — Hydrogenics Corp. — a designer and manufacturer of hydrogen and fuel cell systems, announced that it will deploy a fuel cell hybrid delivery van and an on-site hydrogen refueling system for Purolator Courier.

As part of Purolator’s Greening the Fleet initiative, Hydrogenics will develop and deploy a Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Vehicle (FCHEV) where the fuel cell/battery electric propulsion system will be designed and integrated into a Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (HEV) platform produced by Azure Dynamics and used in Purolator’s delivery fleet.

The initiative is being partially funded through the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance (CTFCA), a $23-million partnership initiative with the Government of Canada. Purolator is the courier arm of Canada Post — a Crown corporation.

The project also includes development of a hydrogen generation and refueling system using Hydrogenics proprietary PEM electrolysis technology, which Hydrogenics says has the capability to generate hydrogen cleanly from water using renewable energy, such as wind power. The refueling station will be commissioned at one of Purolator’s depots in Toronto.

Purolator is hoping the site will become part of the city’s entire hydrogen refueling infrastructure in the near future.

“Fleet applications such as this represent an early-adopting market for fuel cells primarily because fleets typically return daily to a central depot where an appliance can easily refuel them,” explains Pierre Rivard, Hydrogenics president and CEO. “What’s unique about this contract is that Hydrogenics is providing a complete solution, from the fuel cell power for the van to the hydrogen refuelling appliance.”