Q&A
STN: Obviously fuel cell is a pathway for big trucks.
But is the school of thought changing in terms of fuel cell applicability for school buses?
O’Leary: I would say the jury’s still out on fuel cell
for school bus. Ultimately, it is a great battery-electric application. First and foremost, it’s a battery-electric application. And whether it’s fuel cell, whether it’s H2 ICE is hard to say at this point in time, in terms of what other fuel ultimately rises to the top. But at least for the foreseeable future, I feel very comfortable saying battery electric is the optimal application.
STN: Amid the massive federal and state subsidies
for zero emissions, when will it finally make sense from a price parity standpoint for widescale adoption in the school bus industry to take off?
O’Leary: Realistically, it’s not going to reach any kind
of parity until the volumes reach the kind of volumes that we’re producing today. Which means almost a full cut over to a new technology. And that’s at least the
late 2020s, early 2030s. It’s a big deal, and we’re seeing this today in the supply chain for e-componentry. It’s a big deal to go from having an idea and a basic design for a new component, to then making that into some- thing that’s going to live and last under the extreme conditions that a commercial vehicle or a school bus is put under. The design has to be extremely robust and hardened. And then, the supply base behind that, sup- plying all the little widgets that go into that that product ultimately then it has to be able to supply those, not just in the volumes but at the level of quality and predict- able deliverability and everything else that it takes to feed a modern production line. And that’s where today you start to see some of those hiccups going on in that particular part of the supply chain. That’s going to take some time to mature.
STN: Supply chain pressures have been on the fore-
front of everyone’s minds the last couple of years but are improving. What are some of the challenges that DTNA is still seeing and some opportunities that have arisen?
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18 School Transportation News • JUNE 2023 Trans
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