Ford and Georgia Tech partner on “Green Eco School Bus” – nation’s first hydraulic hybrid school bus conversion

Sources: Ford Motor Company and Georgia Institute of Technology

The Ford Motor Company Fund and the Georgia Institute of Technology are partnering. That’s on the nation’s first conversion of a traditional school bus. All to a hydraulic hybrid vehicle. One that runs on recycled biofuel. So Atlanta Public Schools (APS) donated the bus for the project.

Conducted by Georgia Tech, the project is financed by a $50,000 Ford College Community Challenge Grant. That’s one of five given annually for a student-led project. One that matches university resources with an urgent community need related to sustainability.

Georgia Tech

This project focuses on converting existing school buses into hydraulic hybrids. All which could lower greenhouse emissions and reduce transportation costs for schools.

Michael Leamy, Georgia Tech assistant professor of mechanical engineering. So his students have designed and developed the hydraulic hybrid system. That’s for the 16-passenger school bus. Moreover, its installation is nearly complete.

Mary Lin Elementary School

Students at Mary Lin Elementary School are painting “the Green Eco School Bus” green. Thereby organizing a drive. One to collect used cooking oil. All for processing into biodiesel. All which is a renewable energy source.

So working together with Georgia Tech and Atlanta Public Schools.  Now they are taking innovation from the classroom to the community. That’s said by Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “This is a noteworthy example of the types of programs we are bringing to Atlanta as part of our new Operation Goodwill partnership with local Ford and Lincoln dealers with the goal of expanding our engagement with this community.”

Cost-Benefit Analysis 

This project includes a cost-benefit analysis. That’s of a large-scale conversion. All of a school bus fleet to hydraulic hybrid powertrains. Specifically designed to recover lost braking energy.

Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Public School officials are using the project to educate the next generation about green energy. ”Our students are eager to learn about new ways to care for the environment,” said Brian Mitchell, principal, Mary Lin Elementary. “The Green Eco School Bus turns a theoretical concept into a fun and exciting reality that stimulates their learning.”