The Ford Motor Company Fund and the Atlanta-based Georgia Institute of Technology (News - Alert) are partnering on the first U.S. conversion of a traditional school bus to a hydraulic hybrid vehicle that runs on recycled biofuel. Atlanta Public Schools (APS) donated the bus for the project.
Hydraulic hybrids use many of the same principles as electric hybrids—but, instead of using potentially pollutive (and heavy) batteries, they use lightweight components and clean fluid to power the vehicle while it's at slow speeds.
Conducted by Georgia Tech, the project is financed by a $50,000 Ford College Community Challenge Grant (Ford C3 (News - Alert))—one of five given annually. The annual Ford C3 invites 32 partner universities and colleges to develop student-led programs that tackle a specific social problem.
This year, Georgia Tech’s winning project focuses on converting existing school buses into hydraulic hybrids, which could reduce both greenhouse emissions and transportation costs for local schools. The project includes a cost-benefit analysis of a large-scale conversion of a school bus fleet to hydraulic hybrid power trains designed to recover lost braking energy.
Michael Leamy, Georgia Tech assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and his students have designed and developed the hydraulic hybrid system for the 16-passenger school bus, and have nearly finished the installation. Leamy said, “We expect our research will lead to cleaner, more efficient school buses that will help school districts like Atlanta Public Schools (APS) significantly reduce fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions.”
Students at APS’ Mary Lin Elementary School are painting “the Green Eco School Bus” (green, of course!) and organizing a drive to collect used cooking oil for processing into biodiesel, a renewable energy source.
Atlanta Public School officials are using the project to educate the next generation about green energy. “Our students are eager to learn about new ways to care for the environment,” said Brian Mitchell, principal of Mary Lin Elementary. “The Green Eco School Bus turns a theoretical concept into a fun and exciting reality that stimulates … learning.”
“Together with Georgia Tech and Atlanta Public Schools, we are taking innovation from the classroom to the community,” said Jim Vella, President of the Detroit-based Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “This is a noteworthy example of the types of programs we are bringing to Atlanta as part of our new Operation Goodwill partnership with local Ford and Lincoln dealers with the goal of expanding our engagement with this community.”
Ford Motor Company Fund is contributing more than $1 million in the Atlanta area over two years to support non-profits and various educational initiatives with the addition of $600,000 of new contributions this year as part of its Operation Goodwill.
“My customers, employees, family and friends are very proud to say they are connected to Ford Motor Company in ways they never imagined. It is so nice to see a company give back to the community and actually get involved on a local level,” said Mike Vigil dealer, Allan Vigil Ford Lincoln of Morrow, Georgia, in the Atlanta suburbs.
This is not the first time that Georgia Tech has won a grant from Ford. In 2010, the Institute used Ford grant money to establish an innovative bike -share program in collaboration with Emory University's successful bike share program. Designed by mechanical engineering students from the Sustainable Design and Manufacturing program at Georgia Tech, this unique project created a “kiosk-free” bike- share infrastructure called viaCycle. Bicycles can be located and checked in and out by using text messages from any mobile phone, making the system very easy to access
The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the world's premier research universities—ranked seventh among U.S. News & World Report's top public universities; and eighth worldwide among best engineering and information technology universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University 's Academic Ranking of World Universities . For more information, visit their site.
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Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
