Hybra-Drive Selected to Build Hydraulic Hybrid Truck for Testing

HTUF picks team to build hydraulic hybrid delivery trucks to
reduce fuel use up to 60 percent for UPS, FedEx Ground, and Purolator
PASADENA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
A unique government-corporate partnership led by CALSTART has
selected a Michigan firm to build three identical hydraulic hybrid
delivery trucks for real-world testing by UPS, FedEx Ground and
Purolator.

The partnership, CALSTART's Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF),
selected Hybra-Drive Systems LLC to build three large Class 6 trucks
for road testing that incorporate the firm's approach to the promising
hydraulic hybrid technology.

"We are increasingly convinced that this technology offers a
chance to - fairly quickly - improve the fuel mileage of large
trucks," said Bill Van Amburg, senior vice president of CALSTART.
"We've seen several innovative approaches for this type of vehicle and
this is one that our team wants to test to help speed introduction."

Under the new agreement, which is being funded by the Department
of Energy, Hybra-Drive will build and deliver three hydraulic hybrid
trucks over the next 9-to-12 months. UPS, FedEx Ground and Purolator
then will conduct a 6 to 9 month evaluation of the vehicle.
Hybra-Drive hopes the evaluations will demonstrate up to a 60 percent
cut in fuel use along with an accompanying reduction in emissions.

Hybra-Drive, based in Deerfield, Mich., was selected from among
roughly four dozen companies that responded to a Request for Proposals
issued last September.

"We appreciate the opportunity that HTUF has provided and the
chance to have an impact upon a new generation of fuel-efficient
commercial vehicles," said Richard J. Goldstein, president & CEO of
Hybra-Drive.

In a hydraulic hybrid truck, a high-efficiency diesel engine is
combined with a unique hydraulic propulsion system, replacing the
conventional drivetrain and transmission. The vehicle uses hydraulic
pumps and hydraulic storage tanks to store energy, similar to what is
done with electric motors and batteries in hybrid electric vehicles.
Fuel economy is increased in three ways: vehicle braking energy is
recovered that normally is wasted; the engine is operated more
efficiently; and the engine can be shut off when stopped or
decelerating.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled the first
hydraulic hybrid diesel urban delivery vehicle in June 2006. Since
then, several vehicle manufacturers have been working on the
technology. Hybra-Drive's approach is unique in that it has developed
a hydraulic fluid transmission to go along with the hydraulic pumps
and storage tanks that are used to store energy.

Hybra-Drive Systems, working in conjunction with Gates
Corporation, Detroit Custom Chassis (a subsidiary of Spectra LMP, LLC)
and Morgan Olson LLC, proposed a series hydraulic hybrid vehicle (HHV)
based on a Ford chassis for the validation project. In this design, a
gasoline, alternative fuel or diesel engine can be used to operate a
hydraulic pump that pressurizes a stored energy hydraulic system to
propel the vehicle. The HDS-HHPT system is designed to add no extra
curb weight compared to the standard vehicle and includes unique, cost
effective designs for the variable displacement gear pump and fluid
power accumulator system.

Although the corporate members have direct experience with
operating both hydraulic and electric hybrid parcel delivery vehicles,
their objective is to explore other technology options to better
understand the relative merits and benefits of different technical
approaches. The Hybrid Truck Users Forum allows the corporate members
to pool their resources more efficiently and work together to advance
alternative fuel technologies.

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.

About HTUF

HTUF's Parcel Delivery Truck Working Group is operating under a
project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Program. The
national HTUF program is a joint program between CALSTART and the U.S.
Army 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 benefits from the
participation of over 80 fleets representing roughly one million
trucks.

The HTUF Parcel Delivery 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
eventually led to the announcement by International of limited
production of Class 6 hybrid electric trucks and the development of
similar vehicles from Peterbilt, Kenworth, and Freightliner.

About Hybra-Drive Systems, LLC

Hybra-Drive Systems, LLC is a leader in high technology, fluid
power products and systems that are precision-engineered for a wide
variety of commercial, mobile, off-road, industrial and aerospace
markets. Located in Deerfield Michigan, Hybra-Drive Systems was
founded in 2004 to focus on applications of "Tank to Tire Efficiency",
to solve the cost-exasperating, environmental problems and operational
penalties from commercial vehicle propulsion systems. For additional
information, visit www.hybra-drive.com.

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

Copyright Business Wire 2008