Poway firm at forefront of clean bus energy
Poway-based ISE Corporation is making a name for itself as a global leader in supplying clean energy with its hydrogen cell and gas-hybrid systems now being used primarily in transit buses.
The company, founded in 1995, offers alternative-fueled systems that are becoming popular in Canada, where they powered the buses used by those attending the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
“Having visitors from around the globe ride buses with our hybrid systems provides great exposure for us,” said ISE spokeswoman, Carolyn Paynton.
New York City is trying some of the hybrid systems in sanitation trucks, not only for efficiency and low emissions, but for reduced noise compared to diesel and conventional engines.
What sets the hydrogen-cell system apart from others is not only the $2 million price tag per system, but its environmentally friendly result — zero emissions.
According to ISE production manager Rick Brumley, raw hydrogen gas breaks apart the atom, converting it to electricity. As a result, the system has zero contaminants because the exhaust is actually water.
Considered the wave of the future, these ISE systems provide unprecedented reductions in harmful emissions and increased fuel economy, according to spokeswoman Carolyn Paynton.
Currently, ISE’s production line is integrating hydrogen-cell hybrid systems into five London-bound buses, recently ordered from Ireland, then shipped to Poway.
The company is working on its fourth drive system and ready to start its fifth, so the buses can be shipped back to Britain to be test-driven in London before providing transportation during the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Technicians at the ISE facility on Kerran Street in the Poway Business Park, build, then fine-tune the drive system before shipping it off either to another U.S. city or to an overseas destination.
One of the other appealing aspects of the fuel-efficient systems is that they run “very quietly,” said ISE shop manager Rick Brumley.
“They run almost too quietly,” he said. “To help pedestrians know they are coming, some cities are considering a light-sounding warning device.”
ISE also manufactures gas-hybrid systems. In those systems, gas is used to make electricity.
“It’s the electricity that moves the vehicle,” Brumley said.
San Diego’s Metropolitan Transit System has gas-hybrid ISE systems in its 12 SuperLoop buses, which offer “impressive performance and reliability,” said MTS spokesman Rob Schupp.
For agencies such as MTS, having the combination of being economical and emitting less “dirty” air, is a top priority, he said.
According to ISE statistics, a gasoline hybrid system has proven to have greater fuel efficiency by up to 63 percent over competing hybrids.
Choosing which hybrid system is best comes down to what a consumer wants — better fuel efficiency, or owning a vehicle that emits less pollutants.
While the downturn in the economy has slowed production slightly, resulting in the layoff of eight employees, the company, which employs about 130 people, is now hiring sales and marketing staff to reach a broader customer base, Paynton added.
Brumley said that ISE “is always in development, looking at what’s next.”
A projected goal for the Poway company is to have an all-electric battery bus by the end of the year, according to Paynton
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