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NEWS
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News Release |
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BGSU offers incentive for creation of local jobs BGSU offers incentive for creation of local jobs,
partners with leading manufacturer in licensing agreement
BOWLING GREEN, O.-Bowling Green State University has licensed a proprietary hybrid diesel/electric propulsion system for use
in small transit buses offered for sale nationwide and in Canada. To encourage local business development and job creation,
the University also has offered to forego 25 percent of its licensing fee if the systems are manufactured in Bowling Green.
When most people look at a bus in a city, they see a smelly, noisy vehicle that seems to be constantly starting or stopping.
Looking at the same bus, faculty engineers at the BGSU Electric Vehicle Institute (EVI) in the College of Technology see something
different-a chance to use all those stops and starts to reduce vehicle emissions and fossil fuel usage.
The licensed HBD‰ system increases fuel mileage in vehicles that make frequent stops and starts by recovering energy normally
lost during braking, storing it, and then using that energy to electrically assist acceleration. The result is a more environmentally
friendly vehicle that uses less fossil fuel and emits less pollution. Preliminary testing has shown fuel savings of up to
30 percent on a stop-and-go route, with a corresponding reduction in volume of pollutants.
An agreement approved by the BGSU Board of Trustees Friday (Oct. 15) ensures that the institute's vision is on the path to
potential global commercial application. It marks the first time BGSU has licensed patented and other propriety technology
developed for potential commercial use.
"This agreement is good for BGSU and it is good for the City of Bowling Green. We are taking the long view and offering an
incentive to bring new manufacturing jobs to Bowling Green while at the same time providing advanced academic opportunities
for our students. The manufacturing proximity to the institute and the College of Technology will promote ongoing collaboration,"
said Dr. Sidney A. Ribeau, BGSU president.
From its outset in 1994, the Electric Vehicle Institute has sought to develop and promote advanced electrical propulsion technology
and transfer those technologies to appropriate corporations and public agencies for commercialization. By developing new technologies
for market, not only does the College of Technology enhance the academic experiences of its students, but also extends the
University's well-documented contribution to the vitality and prosperity of the region.
The agreement formally approved Friday licenses the patented Hybrid Booster Drive (HBD)‰ technology to Goshen Coach of Elkhart,
Ind., a leading manufacturer of mid-sized commercial buses and a subsidiary of the VSV Group in Cleveland. Goshen will test
the diesel/electric hybrid system on its EURO Shuttle to determine commercial viability.
The HBD is ideally suited for buses and shuttles because it recovers energy from the deceleration process and applies it to
the acceleration process-the engine's least efficient point. The technology is also capable of reducing brake wear in such
vehicles by acting as a brake retardant during stops.
"Our hybrid system has a niche for stop-and-go vehicles like shuttle buses and delivery trucks," said Barry Piersol, director
of the institute.
During the first stage of the agreement, BGSU and Goshen will work jointly on an economic viability model for commercializing
the HBD system.
In the second stage, beginning March 1, Goshen will manufacture five prototype, HBD-equipped shuttles. The U.S. Department
of Transportation and Federal Trade Administration have already approved the sale of the first five prototype buses.
For final approval, the vehicles will be tested and evaluated through the Federal Transit Administration's testing center
in Altoona, Pa. Once all of the testing data and marketing research is evaluated to determine the project's continued viability,
the project will go into the third stage-production.
(Posted October 15, 2004 )
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