Kansas University engineers will contribute to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s testing of a new plug-in hybrid-electric bus this week.

The bus is designed to receive most of its operating energy from electricity.

Dennis Lane, KU distinguished professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering, and his research team will use an on-board testing system to monitor some mechanical operations and air emissions from the tailpipe while the bus is in motion. Lane is the principal investigator for the grant.

The Transportation Research Institute and other sources at KU are funding $334,000 for the emissions testing and equipment. Sen. Pat Roberts and Rep. Jerry Moran, both of Kansas, led efforts in Congress to fund the institute in 2005.

The On-Grid Hybrid Electric Bus Consortium will unveil the bus at 1 p.m. today at Union Station in Kansas City. The consortium comprises the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, the Metropolitan Energy Center and the Electric Power Research Institute, a Palo Alto, Calif., science and technical think tank.