Repowering buses for a greener future

Last month I issued a post about converted locomotives by Positive Traction. This month I have come across converted buses by Equipmake. Equipmake are taking diesel powered buses and are repowering them to convert them into electric vehicles. By using an electric powertrain, these converted buses can be operated without producing localised pollution, and if powered using green electricity, they can decarbonise their entire daily service.

Optimising the design is important in order to ensure that the buses can complete their daily journeys without needing to be recharged during the day. With their optimised system, Equipmake have been able to incorporate the electric motor and batteries into the vehicle while only adding about 1 tonne to the weight of the original diesel vehicle. Given that these vehicles were originally 12 tonne vehicles,  and the ongoing need to have enough battery capacity for both the daily service and the heating, ventilation and cooling requirements of the vehicle (HVAC), this is a relatively small change. Furthermore, the result is significantly improved environmental credentials for the vehicle, including in particular the removal of NOx emissions, and the ability to avoid scrapping the original vehicle!

Being an innovative company, Equipmake have been securing IP protection for their innovations for a number of years. For this project they have developed their own electric motor and batteries. More details on the motor and the use of the batteries both for the powertrain and the HVAC are provided in the article below from The Engineer. 

Can intellectual property help accelerate the race to net zero? Visit our Energy Transition hub to find out.

Equipmake claims that the cost of repowering a bus can typically be reclaimed over the course of five to seven years. That means a bus that’s converted halfway through its normal life should theoretically pay for itself.

www.theengineer.co.uk/...