American municipal buses consumed an estimated 6 billion gallons of diesel fuel last year, equivalent to 2% of overall US oil consumption. Diesel buses emit over 50 million tons of CO2 each year in tailpipe pollution, contributing to man made global warming. But Sinautec Automobile Technologies wants change that and make electric public transportation a reality for American cities. They have developed a series of high performance electric buses and minibuses using a patented ultracapacitor technology. Compared to diesel or CNG buses, their buses have low maintenance costs, low operation costs, zero tailpipe emissions, and can reach a zero carbon footprint if powered by renewable energy sources.

If you are interested in this kind of thing, there will be a presentation/demonstration of the technology at American University in D.C. on Wednesday, October 21. They will be showcasing the following:

- The 15-foot minibus showcased will be the first electric vehicle in the country powered completely by ultracapacitors. The minibus can be fully recharged in fifteen minutes, unlike battery vehicles, which typically takes hours to recharge.
- Electricity used in this demonstration will be generated by a 5,000 watt mobile solar station and a vertical wind turbine, which will generate zero carbon footprints. Wind and solar used with ultracapacitors hold great potential as source of power for electric vehicles in the future.
- Two dozen full-size ultracapacitor buses have been in commercial operation in Shanghai, China for the past three years.
- The ultracapacitor vehicle demonstration is a combined effort of American University, Sinautec Automobile Technologies, The Stella Group, and Shanghai Aowei Technologies Corp.

Very cool stuff.

Sinautec Automobile Technologies