ISE Corporation

ISE Corporation ("International Space Enterprises",[1] later "Innovative Solutions for Energy")[2] was a manufacturer and integrator of heavy-duty hybrid electric powertrain systems for transit bus and truck use, based in San Diego and later Poway, California. ISE was founded in 1995 and filed for bankruptcy in 2010, shortly after raising $20 million in its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange.[3]

ISE Corporation
FoundedJanuary 1995 (1995-01) in San Diego, USA
DefunctAugust 2010 (2010-08)
Headquarters
Poway, California
Key people
Rick Sander, CEO and President
Websiteisecorp.com (not live)

History

ISE Corporation was founded in January 1995[4] by David M. Mazaika and Michael C. Simon,[5] engineers who had formerly worked for General Dynamics.[6] The first funding was a research grant provided by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to develop and test hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle components.[7] ISE entered a strategic partnership with Siemens in 2002, where ISE would use the Siemens ELFA traction motor, inverter, and generator in its series hybrid drivetrain systems for the United States.[8]

ISE started as an integrator, refitting vehicles with hybrid electric or electric power, including transit buses, tow tractors, and trucks.[7] In the first quarter of 2005, ISE moved from San Diego to Poway.[5]

After it declared bankruptcy in 2010, ISE sold its assets at auction to Bluways USA in February 2011 for $3.76 million.[9]

Products

ISE Corporation had two divisions: the first, simply named ISE, supported space exploration by designing micro-rover vehicles for developing and testing space system software. The second, ISE Research, was dedicated to developing hybrid electric powertrains for heavy-duty transportation applications (Class 6 and up trucks, tow tractors, transit buses).[1] In total, ISE shipped approximately 300 hybrid electric drivetrain systems.[9]

ThunderVolt bus based on 30' ElDorado National E-Z Rider with hydrogen fuel cell APU, in test service with AC Transit (c.2002)

ISE Research used the brand ThunderVolt to refer to the series hybrid drivetrains it had developed. The drivetrain included the traction motor(s) and controllers (branded ELFA, provided by Siemens), an energy storage system (battery, charger, and management; or ultracapacitor), auxiliary power unit (APU, to generate electric power for the traction motor and energy storage systems), and hybrid system controllers.[10] As integrated into a mid-size (30') ElDorado National E-Z Rider transit bus, APU options included conventional piston engines (General Motors V8 or Cummins 5.9L), using diesel, gasoline, propane, or compressed natural gas;[11] Capstone gas turbine;[12] and hydrogen fuel cell.[13]

ISE introduced the Hybrid Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (HHICE) variant of the ThunderVolt in 2005. The HHICE bus used a Ford Triton V10 gasoline engine that had been converted to burn hydrogen, coupled with an electric generator as the APU for the series hybrid system; it was first tested by SunLine Transit Agency.[14] During revenue service with SunLine, the HHICE engine overheated twice and caught fire once in three separate incidents in 2007.[15]: 8  Transport for London ordered ten hydrogen-powered buses from ISE in 2007, split equally as five fuel cell and five HHICE APU buses.[16]

Clients

Selected users of transit buses equipped with ISE hybrid drivetrains included:

ISE Corporation hybrid powertrain clients
Transit AgencyBus ChassisQtyYearNotes
MakeModelImage
LADOT ElDorado NationalMST and E-Z Rider 51999 Gasoline-electric and Capstone Turbine-electric buses[17]: 44–46 
e-tran GilligPhantom 212004 Gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrains retrofitted to used buses by Complete Coach Works;[18] the buses were unreliable and caught fire at least 30 times.[19]
Long Beach Transit New FlyerGE40LF / GE40LFA 872005–08 Energy storage using ultracapacitors from Maxwell Technologies instead of traction batteries; fuel costs were comparable to or higher than conventional diesel buses.[18][20] More units were ordered in 2007 and 2008; fleet had accumulated 5,000,000 mi (8,000,000 km) of service collectively by 2008.[21]
SunLine Transit Agency & Winnipeg Transit New FlyerHE40LF 12005 Briefly tested in revenue service; in this Hybrid Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (HHICE) bus, a conventional engine was converted to burn hydrogen and coupled to a generator similar to the Long Beach Transit gasoline-electric buses.[22][23]
LA Metro NABI42-BRT 62008 Gasoline-electric hybrid buses with BRT styling.[24]
RTC Transit WrightStreetCar 502008 Diesel-electric hybrid articulated buses for bus rapid transit service.[25]
BC Transit New FlyerH40LFR 202010 Fuel cell buses for 2010 Winter Games;[6] planning began in 2007,[26] with the governments of Canada and British Columbia contributing CA$89.5 million to purchase and operate the buses for four years.[27] The first bus was unveiled on October 2, 2009.[28] The buses were sold after 2014 after collectively accumulating more than 3,000,000 km (1,900,000 mi) of revenue service.[29][30]

References
  1. "welcome". ISE Corporation. Archived from the original on February 8, 1999.
  2. "Home page". ISE Corporation. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011.
  3. Bigelow, Bruce V. (August 11, 2010). "ISE Corp., Maker of Heavy Duty Hybrid Electric Drive Systems, Files for Bankruptcy Reorganization". Xconomy San Diego. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  4. "About ISE". Archived from the original on July 13, 2006.
  5. "About ISE: Corporate Profile". ISE Corporation. Archived from the original on March 12, 2006.
  6. Richard Sander (March 22, 2010). "ISE Limited: Powering the green movement in a growing market". TMX Money (Interview). Interviewed by Jordan Luy. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010.
  7. "About ISE: Company History". Archived from the original on October 16, 2006.
  8. "ISE Research-ThunderVolt and Siemens Enter into Strategic Marketing Agreement Targeting U.S. Hybrid-Electric Bus Industry" (Press release). September 23, 2002. Archived from the original on October 26, 2006.
  9. Freeman, Mike (February 23, 2011). "Bankrupt ISE sells assets to Bluways". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  10. "ThunderVolt Drive Systems". ISE Research Corporation. Archived from the original on February 20, 2001.
  11. "30 foot transit bus TB30-H". ISE Research Corporation. Archived from the original on February 21, 2001.
  12. "30 foot transit bus TB30-HT". ISE Research Corporation. Archived from the original on February 22, 2001.
  13. "30 foot transit bus TB30-FCH". ISE Research Corporation. Archived from the original on March 9, 2001.
  14. "ISE Delivers First Hybrid Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Bus to SunLine Trnasit" (Press release). AltEnergyMag. January 2, 2005. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  15. Chandler, Kevin; Eudy, Leslie (June 2008). sunLine Transit Agency Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses: Third Evaluation Report (PDF) (Report). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  16. "TfL Orders 10 Hydrogen Buses from ISE". Green Car Congress. November 13, 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  17. Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium; M.J. Bradley & Associates (2000). Hybrid-Electric Transit Buses: Status, Issues, and Benefits (PDF) (Report). Transit Cooperative Research Program. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  18. "City of Elk Grove, California Approves the Purchase of Gasoline-Powered Hybrid-Electric Bus Fleet Supplied by the Team of Complete Coach Works and ISE Corporation" (Press release). August 25, 2004. Archived from the original on October 26, 2006.
  19. Kitaura, Cody (October 29, 2009). "City may receive settlements for fire and failure-prone hybrid buses". Elk Grove Citizen. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  20. Lammert, M. (June 2008). Long Beach Transit: Two-Year Evaluation of Gasoline-Electric Hybrid Transit Buses (PDF) (Report). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  21. "ISE Corporation receives order for 25 gasoline hybrid-electric drive systems for Long Beach Transit" (Press release). ISE Corporation. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  22. "Hydrogen Workshop for Fleet Operators" (PDF). The National Hydrogen Association. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  23. SunLine Tests HHICE Bus in Desert Climate (PDF) (Report). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  24. "Convert six (6) hybrid buses to super low emission (SLEB) transit buses" (PDF). Advanced Transit Vehicle Consortium. June 2, 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  25. Brecher, Aviva (December 2012). Transit Bus Applications of Lithium Ion Batteries: Progress and Prospects (PDF) (Report). Federal Transit Administration. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  26. "Olympics-Fuel cell buses planned for 2010 Games". Reuters. August 3, 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  27. "Hydrogen-powered buses at Olympics under scrutiny". CBC News. January 8, 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  28. Atkinson, Claire (November 10, 2009). "Largest hydrogen fuel cell transit bus fleet to serve 2010 Winter Olympics". Metro Magazine. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  29. "BC Transit's $90M hydrogen bus fleet to be sold off, converted to diesel". CBC News. December 4, 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  30. Kirby, Mark (January 6, 2021). "Legacies of the 2010 Olympic Games in Whistler are Powering More than Nostalgia". Fuel Cells Works. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
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