A new programme is being launched by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the US to look at the potential for fuel cells to power transit fleets.

Following the receipt of a $4 million federal grant, RIT is to develop the Alternative Fuel and Life-cycle Engineering Program at its Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS).

The money will be put into the creation and development of new and innovative technologies that can replace traditional methods of power, with fuel cell development seen as the most promising avenue for the researchers.

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the programme will look at ways to engineer fuel cells that can then be used in buses, trains, vans and other mass transit vehicles.

Nabil Nasr, director of CIMS, commented that RIT will have four new doctoral-level researchers working on the project, with part of the aim being to reduce the cost of running America's mass transit fleet.

Mr Nasr also announced that RIT is hopeful it will be able to demonstrate a working fuel cell vehicle, probably a bus, within four years.


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