Lightning Hybrids buses to transport Denali National Park visitors

LOVELAND — Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska has taken delivery of its first two hydraulic hybrid vehicles from Loveland-based Lightning Hybrids LLC, the company said Tuesday.

The shuttle buses, one a Chevrolet and the other a Freightliner, will transport park visitors along the 14-mile paved section of the 92-mile long Denali Park Road at the entrance to the park. The road, the only one in the 6-million-acre park, runs parallel to the Alaska Range and travels through low valleys and high-mountain passes, giving visitors views of bears, caribou, wolves, moose, Dall sheep and other wildlife, as well as of Denali itself. Formerly known as Mount McKinley, Denali is North America’s highest peak, cresting at 20,310 feet above sea level.

“The National Park Service has a longstanding commitment to using advanced clean technology in their fleet vehicles,” said David Brosky, vice president for sales of Lightning Hybrids. “Our hydraulic hybrid systems work well in harsh environments, and will help the park service to reduce emissions and save fuel.”

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The system from Lightning Hybrids is a patented, parallel hydraulic hybrid system that has no electric batteries. Instead, it applies a hydraulic system to the driveline of a vehicle to regenerate braking energy. Hydraulic pumps and a lightweight accumulator brake the vehicle, store the braking energy, and then use that stored energy to provide power to the wheels. In doing so, fuel is saved, and harmful emissions are cut.

Use of the buses in a national park conforms to the terms of an executive order issued by the White House in March 2015 that called for tougher goals for renewable energy in federal buildings and fleets.

The buses were sold by Colonial Equipment Co., based in Monrovia, Md.

Lightning Hybrids recently raised $2.3 million in new funding, a combination of equity and debt that came on the heels of a $2 million funding round last year. The company, headquartered at 319 Cleveland Ave. in Loveland, employs 44 people, mostly in Loveland. It opened an office in London last year.