Electric Buses that Charge at Each Stop

June 24th, 2011 by Nicholas Brown

Obtained from Proterra's Website

Proterra has received $30 million USD in new funding, including $6 million from GM Ventures to provide short range electric buses to businesses.

Proterra developed a way to make shorter range electric bus travel feasible. The worst problem that electric vehicles have is the cost of their battery packs/banks. They are so expensive that they alone elevate the cost of electric vehicles far above that of gasoline models, and short range models are cheaper but their range is too short. Therefore, manufacturers of these vehicles either have to back them up with onboard generators which supply power to the motor or charge the batteries, or they choose the more expensive option and use large battery packs which store plenty of energy.

Proterra is capitalizing on the fact that the lithium titanate batteries powering their buses can be charged in 10 minutes, and therefore can be charged at each bus stop that has a charger setup. The distance between bus stops is normally short, making it possible to use very short range batteries which enable them to travel 30-40 miles per charge and keep recharging them frequently.

Short range buses are more efficient than long range models because they are lighter due to fewer batteries. Two more advantages of such a setup are that fewer batteries cost less money, and reduce the price of the bus.

Proterra claims that the lithium titanate batteries they use to power these buses are able to handle frequent and fast charging all day, every day, unlike traditional lithium ion batteries which they say would break down after only a few years of that abuse.

Time will tell if this project is feasible and will reveal any flaws it may have. Real world testing is always necessary to fully ensure that it is practical.

h/t Technology Review

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Tags: alternative propulsion system, buses, elecrtric mass transit

About the Author

Nicholas Brown writes on CleanTechnica, Gas2, Kleef&Co, and Green Building Elements. He has a keen interest in physics-intensive topics such as electricity generation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology, energy storage, and geography. His website is: Kompulsa.com.

Anonymous

BYD has an electric bus with a 180 mile range. It’s going into use in Germany and Singapore.

The Proterra might be less expensive overall, but it will require charging points along the route.

I’m assuming the BYD buses use the same batteries used in their e6 EVs. Fifty of their e6s have been in use as taxis for over a year, averaging 36,400 miles with at least one taxi accumulating over 60,000 miles. Most of the recharging has been done with rapid chargers (Level 3, I think) and BYD reports no decrease in battery range.

We’re likely to see a drastic drop in the number of diesel buses over the coming years.
http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/index;_ylt=Aq8isTErwZ1JGnshzAm38zkB53NG;_ylv=3?sid=2115500148 Breath on the Wind

The idea is not very new and there have been several trials. What is new is that GM has decided that it was a good enough idea to put money behind it.
http://electric-vehicles-cars-bikes.blogspot.com/2010/10/overhead-pantograph-ev-bus-system-fast.html

http://electric-vehicles-cars-bikes.blogspot.com/2010/12/ge-demonstrates-electric-bus-of-future.html
And another way to drive an electric bus: http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=25408
- Anonymous
  
  Thanks for the extra info!
Soul

that is great..and with power coming from renewable energy in the future, such as solar and wing , it will be perfect
- Soul
  
  hehe! I meant “wind” of course…but who knows…lol
  - Anonymous
    
    lol, it has happened a number of times before