The entire repowered fleet will be delivered by January 2025, with three buses delivered by May 2024, and two per month thereafter, according to plans. The first is set to enter service in Q1 2024.

Sightseeing electric buses for London

All 20 vehicles are Ankai double-deck sightseeing buses – and each will be converted to incorporate Equipmake’s cutting-edge Zero-Emission Drivetrain (ZED) technology, which in this specification features a 327kWh capacity battery.

The ZED, which is completely modular and scalable and can be applied to single as well as double-decker buses, features Equipmake’s in-house developed electric motor, inverter, and power electronics, combined with lithium-ion batteries. In addition, one of its most important features is Equipmake’s patented thermal management system, which maintains all three of the ZED’s key components – the battery pack, motor, and inverter – at an optimum operating temperature, maximising vehicle range. “Featuring an advanced water-glycol cooling circuit, the system has the added benefit of providing interior heating during cold conditions with captured thermal energy. When the battery is depleted at the end of a complete duty cycle, it can be recharged at the depot overnight via a CSS DC charging point”, Equipmake adds.

Ian Foley, CEO of Equipmake, commented: “Our industry-leading integrated zero emission drivetrain system continues to impress new and existing customers, as evidenced by the extension of this contract with Big Bus Tours. This agreement will double the size of its fully electric, repowered fleet, demonstrating both the quality and efficacy of our state-of-the-art technology, and the level of investment being made across the transport sector as it moves towards a net zero future.”

Gerry Price, Executive Vice President – Group Operations at Big Bus Tours added: “As part of our drive for global net zero, Equipmake’s performance to date with the development of the first 10 buses ordered made the decision to increase the number an easy one and will further progress our class leading zero emissions status in the London tourism market.”

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The product will be integrated within Danfoss Drives’ portfolio of Electrification Solutions with primary focus on Smart Grids and energy storage.

Danfoss focus on battery storage systems

With the extension of the electrification portfolio, Danfoss Drives states it will be able to support customers even better in battery energy storage system applications (BESS). Battery energy storage can be used for mobile power supply; to absorb surplus renewable power for later use; and in peak shaving in industrial plants, smoothing peaks and troughs in power supply.

In the case of fleets, the use of battery storage applications has the potential of leveraging V2G capabilities of heavy vehicles (which could be a way to monetize the fleet itself…), as well as enabling second life battery applications (projects are already underway in Germany and Sweden, for instance).

Mika Kulju, President of the Danfoss Drives business, says: “With 2030 climate targets becoming ever more imminent, decarbonization via electrification is accelerating in multiple sectors. There is a growing trend in all focus application areas where 1500 V DC is starting to play a key role. This is a big step for Danfoss Drives in ensuring a complete electrification offering, thus securing the right solutions for our customers in their electrification projects.”

Shekhar Kubal, Head of Electrification Business Unit, states: “I am excited to extend our team and strengthen our power conversion portfolio. The new team has developed an extraordinarily strong product, and we will add even more value to it while integrating it into the Danfoss Electrification portfolio. In the electrification business unit, we are excited to offer our customers even better energy storage solutions from now on, and we are looking forward to sharing this exciting news with our customers”.

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“The agreement marks a new phase in the established partnership between Ballard and NFI, focused on deployment-level volumes of fuel cell powered buses across all of NFI’s major brands including New Flyer, Alexander Dennis, and MCI”, Ballard states in a press note.

A minimum of 100 fuel cell modules for NFI

As part of the deal, NFI has placed its first purchase order under the agreement for a minimum of 100 FCmove-HD+ modules for planned delivery in 2024. The modules will primarily be produced in Ballard’s Bend, Oregon facility with Buy America compliance, and will power New Flyer’s next generation Xcelsior CHARGE FC hydrogen fuel cell buses for deployment across the US and Canada, including California, Manitoba, Nevada, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

“This agreement is the next step in our multi-decade partnership with Ballard and a key component in advancing our leading fuel cell bus offerings,” said David White, Executive Vice President, Supply Management, NFI. “By working with Ballard across numerous bus products in multiple jurisdictions, we have been able to leverage best practices and generate design, engineering and sourcing synergies. With growing demand for fuel cell buses, we are excited to continue this partnership as we drive the transition to zero-emission transportation.”  

“We are proud NFI (and subsidiaries New Flyer, Alexander Dennis, and MCI) has chosen Ballard as their committed partner for the next phase of growth in the fuel cell bus market,” said David Mucciacciaro, Ballard Chief Commercial Officer. “We believe New Flyer is well positioned to deliver deployment scale volumes of fuel cell buses, particularly in the US market, where operators increasingly prefer hydrogen fuel cell powered buses for their range, short refueling times, high-availability, and cost-effective infrastructure requirements.”

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The focus is on LFP chemistry systems, featuring thermal runaway temperature of up to 800 ℃. By removing the conventional module parts, the 3rd generation CTP technology increases the battery energy density by 10% to 15%, utilizing the bus payload and making it perfect for city and airport transportation, partners say.

CATL – CaetanoBus partnership go live

The flexible configuration system that CATL developed for CaetanoBus is suited for various CaetanoBus electric buses. These high-performance batteries will enable Caetanobus to create a wide range of zero-emission bus products to realize the sustainability benefits of electrification. 

“CATL always strives to provide leading battery solutions to the world,” said Akin Li, executive president of CATL. “Developing a comprehensive network with diversified commercial vehicle OEMs globally is crucial to our business sector. More importantly, we are pleased to get together with CaetanoBus to pave the way for responsible and sustainable city and airport transportation.” 

CaetanoBus CEO Patricia Vasconcelos highlights, “The collaboration between CaetanoBus and CATL is a key milestone for both entities and for the market, in the pursuit of the industry’s Zero Emissions objectives. With the inclusion of these powerful batteries in our urban and airport buses, we will improve our offer and respond directly to customer demands for sustainable transport solutions. This partnership emphasizes our commitment to Zero Emission buses, reinforcing CaetanoBus trajectory to be one of the leaders of the transition in urban and airport bus transport. This collaboration represents a giant step towards environmental responsibility and reinforces our strategy of developing 100% electric and electric powered by hydrogen buses for a cleaner and greener future!” 

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“SVOLT began marketing these cells at the beginning of 2022, but has now improved the technology even further, according to the company. BMW is one of the potential customers”, industry agency Electrive notes.

SVOLT launches short-blade-based products

“The combination of short blade and fast charge provides a more effective solution for the battery performance demands of PHEV and BEV”, SVOLT Chairman Yang Hongxin noted that as the trend shifts to high voltage products for electric vehicles, cell capacity is evolving towards 100~150Ah.

SVOLT has comprehensively updated its best-selling 62 Ah, 90 Ah and 117 Ah products, and the second-generation PHEV cells now offer improved performance and 2.2C fast-charging capability without cost increases. Their upgrade in 2024 will bring popular vehicle models into the era of fast charging and further strengthen SVOLT’s leading position in the PHEV market.

In addition, SVOLT has introduced the world’s first lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with an extended range of more than 300 kilometres and the world’s first nickel manganese cobalt (NCM) battery for hybrid vehicles with a range of more than 350 kilometres. Besides this, the company has unveiled a NCM short-blade cell and the world’s first 800 V fast-charging cell for PHEVs.

Within the Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) segment, SVOLT is launching the L400 and L600 short-blade LFP fast-charging cells onto the market. “With capacities of 105 Ah, 130 Ah and 133 Ah and a charging rate of up to 5C, they fulfil various requirement scenarios. L600 short-blade fast-charging cells are to be upgraded for 3C to 4C scenarios, with mass production scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2024. L400 offering is expected to cover 4C and higher to meet the requirements of 800-volt high-voltage vehicles. Mass production is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024”, SVOLT states.

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At Busworld Europe 2023 in Brussels they unveiled their own Corner e-Drive electric axle, aimed at increasing the efficiency, balance and structure of electric vehicles.

BRIST in 2023: Corner e-Drive and e-Bus front independent axle

Now, at short time distance from Brussels’ expo, it’s time for the launch of a brand new project, the result of a research and development process driven by the assumption of bus mass center moving to the front of the bus in case of electric-born vehicles (as a consequence, for instance, of having batteries on the front part of the roof). 

The new front independent axle by BRIST represents a 9 ton (20,000 lbs)-capable variant of the BRIST-made IFS, which is based on patented T-joint carrier geometry and has capacity for 8.2 ton. Its core values, speaking of IFS, consist in the compact design in vertical direction, with low spring position and a maximum steering angle of 56°. Large spring points reduce the need for anti-roll bar, BRIST states. The company adds that this components is 7% lighter than the best competitor. 

Well, coming to the brand new 9 ton variant, it’s a product developed with the next generation e-buses in mind. It’s 6% lighter than competitors, thanks to savings of 30 kg. BRIST claims it allows “by far the widest gangway in the market with 1,064 mm”. Series production is expected to begin in 2025.

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According to the deal, over the next three years, “LG Energy Solution will deliver around 200,000 units of battery modules manufactured at its Wroclaw plant in Poland to ICPT’s GigafactoryX in Pruszkow, where they will be assembled into battery packs and systems. The supplied batteries will be capable of supporting the manufacture of nearly 3,000 large commercial electric vehicles”.

Nowadays LG’s plant in Biskupice Podgorne (Kobierzyce commune) has a capacity of 70GWh and covers an area of about 100 hectares. Impact is battery provider partner of Solaris and Alexander Dennis. The Polish company sources battery cells from Inobat, according to a previous deal.

ICPT sources battery modules from LG

With the entire process from battery manufacturing to electric bus production taking place in Poland, this deal aims to establish a comprehensive supply chain for Europe’s electric public transportation system. The partnership also signifies the concerted efforts of both companies to drive forward the electrification of Europe.

“Batteries for commercial vehicles like electric buses must withstand a much higher energy flow, up to around 11 times higher than passenger cars, which is why LG Energy Solution will apply NCM chemistry to its batteries to enhance their durability and driving range”, partners state.

“Our partnership with ICPT, a highly trusted battery systems provider for public transportation, presents us an exciting opportunity to introduce our outstanding battery technology to the fast-growing European commercial vehicle market,” said Seungtaek Hong, head of Advanced Automotive Battery OTS Marketing Department at LG Energy Solution. “Capitalizing on our Wroclaw plant, which is the biggest battery manufacturing facility in Europe, we are committed to establishing a robust supply chain in Europe and expediting its transition to sustainable mobility.”

“Our partnership with LG Energy Solution will strengthen our leading battery offering in the bus market. Together, we can provide our customers with exceptional, advanced solutions tailored to the demanding conditions of this market,” said Bartek Kras, Vice President of ICPT. “Considering the strong global demand, this is a significant added value for this sector. This way, we can offer both our current and new customers the highest quality and guaranteed supply assurance.”

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The collaboration will not only improve battery performance and fleet efficiency, but also implement predictive maintenance measures and possibly extend the life cycle of the batteries themselves. It also includes the study of potential second-life applications, such as reusing the batteries for renewable energy projects or integrating them into power grid stabilization systems.

«Bringing our battery diagnostics system into this transformative collaboration with Enel X is exciting for the whole team. We are proud that the decision to partner with us was motivated by our extensive experience and the seamless integration of battery KPIs into Enel X digital dashboard,as well as advanced functionalities like a system of notifications and alerting. This emphasizes our joint commitment to ensuring the reliability and longevity of electric bus fleets», says Claudius Jehle, CEO, and founder of Volytica.

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KleanDrive’s technology enables all modes of transportation (commercial, heavy-duty, marine, off-highway, and other) to replace polluting diesel engines with the “ePowertrain Module” solution; repowering solution minimises disruptions and reduces operating costs to a fraction of those associated with buying and building brand new electric vehicles

The KleanDrive brand is accompanied by new logo and website launch with a .earth domain that represents its founders’ passion of saving the planet.

Joe Tighe, CEO of KleanDrive said: “The launch of KleanDrive is a natural evolution of our business and innovative technology, reflecting our forward-thinking approach and our commitment to explore new opportunities that extend beyond the bus industry. This is the next step on our journey where our primary goal remains unwavering: to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles for the betterment of our planet and all its inhabitants. Our mission is transforming transport and with our innovative repowering technology offering a quick, cost-effective and sustainable shift to zero-emission, KleanDrive is ideally positioned to be the go-to solution provider in response to the urgent need to decarbonise across challenging and high-impact sectors”.

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Traktionssysteme Austria (TSA) announces it is continuing its business expansion with the takeover of the former Hausmann property at Brown Boveri Str. 10, following the rental agreement of the former Grünzweig building located on the border between Mödling and Wiener Neudorf (Im Felberbrunn).

The latest developments mark a significant milestone towards ’TSA-City‘, as the extension of the site is described in the company’s strategy paper, TSA points out.

TSA towards establishing ‘TSA-City’

After completing conversion and renovation work, a state-of-the-art logistics and assembly hall with an area of 3,600m² is now in operation, TSA says. This new facility not only includes the recently expanded ROAD assembly activities, which were outsourced from the headquarters manufacturing premises to the opposite production hall, but also includes large-scale storage racks. This enables the storage of components such as stators and PM rotors from the plant in Tuzla (BiH), finished goods and other materials for assembly, the company adds. 

“TSA is thus responding effectively to the increasing demand for storage space and has now the opportunity to give up previously external storage premises in order to unite all activities under one roof. These measures are designed to enable an efficient and optimized assembly of expected future quantities in the ROAD product segment. Thanks to this strategic integration, all processes can be coordinated smoothly for an optimum use of production capacities”, TSA states.

A small inauguration party was recently held at the now renamed Werk2, where all 400 employees came together to celebrate the remarkable success and this decisive step towards expansion and optimized work. TSA concludes: “We are convinced that the intelligent development of ‘TSA City’ (Werk1, Werk 2 & Werk 3) in line with our 2030 Corporate Strategy will make a significant contribution to strengthening our Austrian location”. 

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