Yup, very impressive. That 600kW charge for 30 minutes points to a 200-300kWh battery beast in there. I like the deal with the local utility to use the batteries as stationary power storage after their life as propulsion energy storage! With an expected lifetime of several years, the utility can plan ahead for years to receive a steady stream of "used" battery capacity at agreed prices.
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Proterra Electric Bus
- Thread starter dpeilow
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- Electric Vehicles
Skip to the 1:30 point in this vid for info about the BYD K9 bus.
[video=vimeo;36125719]http://vimeo.com/36125719[/video]
Interesting that it looks like the batteries packed in parts of the bus sidewalls as opposed to completely under the floor.
[video=vimeo;36125719]http://vimeo.com/36125719[/video]
Interesting that it looks like the batteries packed in parts of the bus sidewalls as opposed to completely under the floor.
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(1) trolleybuses use dual-wire overhead; trams/streetcars usually use single-wire overhead (with the track for return/ground) which is half as many wires.
(2) the messiest (and most expensive) overhead wiring is at junctions. This can be avoided *entirely* with fairly small batteries in the trolleybuses or trams, as you only need enough battery power to cross the intersection. This is easier with trams because of the problem of reattaching to the wire on the far side of the intersection; a trolleybus has to have two wires match up in the right places, while a tram only has to have a single point of contact.
I have often thought that the addition of relatively small batteries will significantly improve the cost of building and maintaining electrified trolleybus and streetcar lines because it practically eliminates the need for "special work" wiring. I don't think most transit agencies have thought through the implications of this yet.
Cool videos. Thanks for posting those. China has always been an enigma for us westerners. At one time it was a world leader in science and technology. Then it went into decline and had its own dark ages. And now it looks as though China is once again moving into the lead. They're still burning a ***tload of coal, but they seem to be very aggressive about electrification of transportation. I love electric streetcars and trollybusses, and this K9 bus has all the quiet and smooth of a trollybus without the need for overhead wires or the consequent route limitation. When I lived in Guadalajara there were two trollybus lines, and I loved riding them.
jory
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jory
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jory
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jory
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the roof panels might generate enough juice to keep interior and batteries at a convenient temperature when the bus is parked in sunlight. It would be a major hassle to set up a bus parking space for hundreds of vehicles with a charging post for each and every one.
For climate zones with freezing conditions and low insulation, you need the plugs, though.
For climate zones with freezing conditions and low insulation, you need the plugs, though.
I've been wondering why there aren't very many pure electric busses.
By my calculations 4 tons/800 kWh of batteries woud cost around $350,000. At a consumption of say 1 kWh/km (1.6 kWh/mile), that would be a range of 800 km/500 miles. (I don't think this is too unreasonable - a regular dieselbus has approximately a fifth of the mileage of a regular sized car.) Even with a consumption of 2 kWh/km, we'd be talking about a range of 400 km - more than a workdays worth of driving.
The government here just bought a few hydrogenbusses at around 2 million dollars each, whereas a regular dieselbus costs around $500,000. I'd expect that it would be possible to put an electric bus in the streets at half the cost of a hydrogenbus, yet hydrogenbusses are a lot more common.
By my calculations 4 tons/800 kWh of batteries woud cost around $350,000. At a consumption of say 1 kWh/km (1.6 kWh/mile), that would be a range of 800 km/500 miles. (I don't think this is too unreasonable - a regular dieselbus has approximately a fifth of the mileage of a regular sized car.) Even with a consumption of 2 kWh/km, we'd be talking about a range of 400 km - more than a workdays worth of driving.
The government here just bought a few hydrogenbusses at around 2 million dollars each, whereas a regular dieselbus costs around $500,000. I'd expect that it would be possible to put an electric bus in the streets at half the cost of a hydrogenbus, yet hydrogenbusses are a lot more common.
I've ridden the Ecolobus in Quebec City. Aside from the uncomfortable plastic seats it was a smooth ride since it "roule a` l'ectricite'". Unfortunately the engine/generator runs when the bus is stopped so the smooth, quiet ride is punctuated by noise and vibration.
roblab
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I've wondered that myself. We had a test program here in Napa Valley years ago. The electric buses were bought by the school district, ideal use! Pick up kids, deliver kids, recharge, repeat in afternoon. Although the buses exceeded the performance of their gas counterparts, and had completed over a year of testing with flying colors, something happened, probably the CARB loss to the automakers and oil companies, and the buses disappeared.
Seminar: 2004-07-27 - SMUD Representatives: Demo of Advanced Battery-Elec. School Bus
Napa is now toying with hybrids and hydrogen (!), which are probably not on the hit list of the auto and oil companies, and we start another round of testing. American politics does not care about inefficiencies, pollution, or graft, as long as their major political supporters are happy.
There are a lot of electric buses making inroads in China now. Their makers are starting to win business overseas.
But we've been here before...
London Electrobus Company: What is this that roareth thus?
But we've been here before...
London Electrobus Company: What is this that roareth thus?
and they are comming to the EU!
First TÃœV Rheinland Certified Pure Electric Inner City Bus Exported from China to the EU | TV Rheinland
EV busses would not only be half the cost at "only"$1M each, they would have much better uptime, durability, and lower maintence than fuel cell busses.
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