Electric bus
[9] Sometimes wireless charging pads are utilized, but plug-in stations are more common due to the fact that are faster and more efficient.
[13][14] The final report published in December 2024 recommended against a national electric road network in Sweden as it would not be cost-effective, and the project was paused.
[15][16] From 2023 to 2027 France will conduct electric road studies with technologies by Alstom,[17] Electreon, and Elonroad.
[18] The first solar powered microgrid for charging electric buses in the US is under construction in Montgomery County, MD, and scheduled for completion in fall of 2022.
Ultracapacitors can only store about 5 percent of the energy that lithium-ion batteries hold for the same weight, limiting them to a short distance per charge.
In vehicles that have to stop frequently and predictably as part of normal operation, energy storage based exclusively on ultracapacitors can be a solution.
[21] In 2009, Sinautec Automobile Technologies,[22] based in Arlington, VA, and its Chinese partner, Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company[23] are testing with 17 forty-one seat Ultracap Buses serving the Greater Shanghai area since 2006 without any major technical problems.
The buses have very predictable routes and need to stop regularly, every 5 kilometres (3 mi), allowing opportunities for quick recharging.
The buses can also capture energy from braking, and the company says that recharging stations can be equipped with solar panels.
[25] Sinautec estimates that one of its buses has one-tenth the energy cost of a diesel bus and can achieve lifetime fuel savings of $200,000.
The ultracapacitors are made of activated carbon, and have an energy density of six watt-hours per kilogram (for comparison, a high-performance lithium-ion battery can achieve 200 watt-hours per kilogram), but the ultracapacitor bus is also cheaper than lithium-ion battery buses, about 40 percent less expensive, with a far superior reliability rating.
Sinautec is in discussions with MIT's Schindall about developing ultracapacitors of higher energy density using vertically aligned carbon nanotube structures that give the devices more surface area for holding a charge.
In addition, terrain may pose a challenge to the adoption of electric vehicles that carry stored energy compared to trolleybuses, which draw power from overhead lines.
High local utility rates (especially during periods of peak demand) and proprietary charging systems pose barriers to adoption.
Although some diesel hybrids are in use, this is the first modern electric school bus approved for student transportation by any state.
[30] The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $2.5 billion in funding for electric school buses, to be distributed over five years.
[32] In September 2022, EPA funding for electric schoolbuses was doubled, from $500 million to almost $1 billion, due to high demand.
The improvement in air quality over diesel powered school buses is expected to be helpful for children with asthma.
[105][106] EBS (Egged Bus Systems), which primarily serves Waterland to the north of Amsterdam, has also ordered 10 electric buses from VDL.
On 11 December 2016 Hermes introduced 43 fully electric VDL 18-metre buses in Eindhoven, driving a daily distance of 400 km each.
[108] Since March 2018, 100 VDL Citea articulated electric buses operated by Connexxion have served Schiphol airport.
Most of the electric buses in Romania are deliveres by: Solaris (Poland), SOR (Czech Republic), Karsan (Turkey), Temsa (Turkey), BYD (China), ZTE Bus in cooperation with BMC Trucks and Bus (Romania).
[157] The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $2.5 billion in funding for electric school buses, to be distributed over five years.
This initiative holds particular importance in Oakland, a community where many students come from low-income families that are disproportionately affected by industrial pollution.
The electric buses are projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 25,000 tons each year, thereby improving both the environment and health conditions within the community.
