Hybrid Truck Users Forum Selects Suppliers for Refuse Truck Working Group

Crane Carrier Teams With ISE Corp and Bosch Rexroth to Build
Hybrid Trash Trucks to Reduce Fuel Use by 30-50% for NY, Chicago and
Houston
PASADENA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
CALSTART's Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) Refuse Working Group
announced today that its members have selected the supplier team of
Crane Carrier/ISE/Bosch Rexroth to negotiate with for validation and
testing of Class 7 & 8 heavy duty hydraulic hybrid and electric hybrid
refuse vehicles.

The hybrid trucks are expected to yield 30 percent to 50 percent
reductions in fuel use with an accompanying reduction in emissions, to
be demonstrated in chassis dynamometer and field testing. The working
group members taking part in the hybrid refuse truck pilot project
include the Department of Sanitation, City of New York; Solid Waste
Management Department, City of Houston; and the City of Chicago.

"In the pioneering spirit of New York City, the Department of
Sanitation is proud to be an early adopter of heavy-duty hybrid
technology. We are committed to working with partners in developing
new and innovative technologies that will benefit not only our city's
environment, but our country's, as well," said Sanitation Commissioner
John J. Doherty.

Crane Carrier Company, working in conjunction with ISE
Corporation, proposed a series hybrid electric refuse vehicle (HEV)
using a self-contained hybrid drive assembly that can be easily
mounted between the frame rails in most truck chassis. It replaces the
conventional manual or automatic transmission assembly in the Crane
Carrier LET2 chassis. The proposed HEV system uses components that
have already been developed by ISE for the transit market in heavy 60
ft. articulated bus applications. The HEV will use nickel-metal
hydride (NiMH) batteries or ultra-capacitor packs to store energy
recovered from the high number of braking cycles experienced by refuse
collection vehicles during their normal operation. The HEV will also
employ an onboard GPS and Remote Diagnostic Unit (RDU) providing the
capability for real time performance monitoring and remote
troubleshooting. The RDU conveys location, vehicle status and offers
web-based access.

Crane Carrier and Bosch Rexroth Corporation have proposed using
Rexroth's Hydrostatic Regenerative Brake (HRB) parallel hydraulic
hybrid system to power their LET2 chassis. The HRB system will be
integrated with the Heil refuse body hydraulic system for weight
savings and more efficient packaging. The HRB system uses a hydraulic
pump/motor, connected to the driveline, to capture kinetic energy
during vehicle braking. When braking, the pump/motor acts as a pump,
absorbing energy from the driveline and imparting a retarding force on
the drive wheels. The absorbed energy pumps hydraulic fluid into a
nitrogen-pressurized accumulator. During acceleration the pressurized
gas pushes fluid out of the accumulator and the pump/motor now acts as
a hydraulic motor, assisting the engine and reducing the fuel required
to launch the vehicle.

About CALSTART's Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF)

The national Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) program is a
partnership between CALSTART and the U.S. Army TARDEC's National
Automotive Center (NAC). HTUF works to speed the commercialization of
hybrid drivelines that could be used in both military and commercial
vehicles. The HTUF program currently works with more than 80 fleets
representing roughly one million trucks. Truck hybrids are emerging as
a U.S.-led technology: there are already more than ten leading U.S.
manufacturers of heavy-duty hybrid propulsion systems.

The HTUF Refuse Working Group is building on the success of the
HTUF Utility Truck Working Group and its deployment of 24
International Truck/Eaton hybrid electric "bucket" trucks, which has
led to the early production of Class 6/7 hybrid trucks by
International and the development of similar vehicles by Peterbilt,
Kenworth and Freightliner.

About CALSTART

HTUF is one of several national programs operated by CALSTART,
North America's leading advanced transportation technologies
consortium. CALSTART is a participant-supported organization of more
than 155 firms and organizations worldwide, dedicated to expanding and
supporting a high-tech transportation industry that cleans the air,
creates jobs and improves energy efficiency. CALSTART serves as a
strategic broker to spur advanced transportation technologies, fuels,
systems and the companies that make them. Visit www.calstart.org and
www.htuf.org to learn more.

CALSTART
MK Campbell, 626-744-5602
mkcampbell@calstart.org

Copyright Business Wire 2008