7 Bonus Electric Bus & Truck News Stories
Following our end-of-month 7 bonus electric car & SUV stories, 5 bonus battery stories, and 7 bonus solar + storage stories, here are 7 bonus electric bus & electric truck stories that we didn’t have time to cover as standalone articles but didn’t want to skip completely.
1. Solaris is delivering the 1st electric school bus in Poland. Note that Poland doesn’t have those iconic yellow school buses like we have in United States. That was actually one thing my Polish wife and Polish-born girls were really excited about when we moved here — the yellow school buses. The accomplishment is great just the same, and hopefully this will be the start of a fast-growing trend in Poland. It may finally be picking up momentum here in the US.
The school bus will be delivered in October. “The first electric school bus in Poland will carry children to classes in Godzianów near Łódź. The purchase of the electric school bus was subsidised by NFOŚiGW (the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management).”
The batteries of the bus have nearly 240 kWh energy storage capacity, providing a range of 200 km (124 miles) even in poor conditions. “An electric axle with two integrated motors boasting a power of 125 kW each will ensure a comfortable, smooth ride that is noise-free and without violent vibrations. The bus will be charged using a mobile charger of 40 kW which will form part of the order.”
2. Daimler’s FUSO eCanter light-duty electric truck is now delivering bottled butane and propane to customers in central London for Calor. London, as we reported recently, has its Ultra Low Emission Zone (first phase) in force, which requires either driving cleaner vehicles or paying for the pollution created by your dirtier vehicle.
“A single charge gives the eCanter an effective operating range of approximately 100 km, which is ample for many urban delivery applications. Calor’s vehicle typically covers around 50 kilometres a day, and its batteries are replenished overnight at a recharging point in the depot. Typically, it leaves the depot each morning carrying a 2,370 kg load, and remains heavily laden throughout the day, as the driver collects empty gas bottles each time he drops off full ones.
“One of those drivers is Alexandru Nechita, who reports: ‘The eCanter is so smooth. The pick-up from a standing start is really strong and it pulls away easily. The lack of noise or vibration in the cab is noticeable too, and makes for a much more relaxing drive.’ Like its diesel-engined stablemate, the eCanter is a compact and agile 7.5-tonner. ‘The truck’s size and manoeuvrability mean it’s easy to negotiate city-centre traffic or access particularly tight locations,’ he added.”
There are 16 FUSO eCanter trucks on the streets of London in total, and more than 150 across Europe, the US, and Japan.
3. Lightning Systems, a top commercial electric vehicle producer, is growing and expanding its operations in Loveland, Colorado. “With more than $32 million in pending orders from commercial and government fleets, the company is more than tripling the size of its manufacturing, research and development facility in Loveland, Colorado.
“Lightning moved its headquarters, manufacturing, and R&D into the former Hewlett-Packard/Agilent campus in southwest Loveland three years ago. The company recently took over the entire building on the campus located at Southwest 14th Street and Taft Avenue, expanding its square footage from 45,000 to 142,000.”
4. The Orange County Transportation Authority is moving forward with a plan for how the Orange County bus fleet could switch to 100% electricity by 2040. A draft plan was approved and will not be submitted to the California Air Resources Board (CARB). I’ve already expressed my opinion on transition targets for 2040 and beyond, so I won’t repeat myself here. (I think such slow transitions are lame.)
“In April, the OCTA Board of Directors approved a request for quotes to purchase 10 plug-in battery-electric buses.
“The pilot program for the battery-electric 40-foot buses comes following OCTA’s debut at the start of 2020 of 10 new hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses.
“Those hydrogen fuel-cell buses began operating in January, when OCTA debuted its hydrogen fueling station in Santa Ana. In all, it represented a $22.9-million investment.”
5. Yutong Group, the largest bus manufacturer in China (and the world for that matter), has announced that it is going to be “using Cree 1200V silicon carbide devices in a StarPower power module for its new, industry-leading, high-efficiency powertrain system for electric buses.” This is the first time it is going to be using silicon carbide in a powertrain.
“The use of silicon carbide-based power solutions enable faster, smaller, lighter and more powerful electronic systems for commercial electric vehicles,” the company adds. “Coupled with StarPower’s power module technology, the use of Cree’s silicon carbide-based MOSFET in the powertrain will help extend driving range while lowering weight and conserving space.”
6. Motiv Power Systems delivered 9 medium-duty electric box trucks for the Community Resource Project (CRP) to be used for “home energy audits, weatherization and HVAC services to low-income residents in an area where air quality is some of the worst in the country.” That would be the greater Sacramento area.
“Motiv’s Ford eQVM-approved Electric Powered Intelligent Chassis (EPIC) E-450 chassis were outfitted with work truck bodies by Rockport Commercial Vehicles and purchased through South Bay Ford.
“Funding for the electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure comes from the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD), California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). The vehicles have gone through pre-delivery inspection at Motiv’s newly opened Stockton service center, which will also serve as the base for any repairs or maintenance.”
7. Ending on a Solaris story in Poland after starting on a Solaris story in Poland, this one celebrates the news that Katowice’s transit operator, Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Miejskiej (PKM), ordered 5 Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses, which will join 10 electric buses already in operation there.
“At the beginning of the year, Solaris supplied five articulated Urbino 18 electric buses to the PKM operator. In a few weeks, 5 twelve-meter electric buses shall be delivered. Meanwhile, on Monday, the parties signed a contract for another five electric Urbino 12 electric to be supplied in the second quarter of 2021. The value of the contract amounts to PLN 12.4 million (ca. 3,1 million EUR). Apart from the vehicles as such, Solaris is to provide also five stationary plug-in charging devices.
“The electric buses for Katowice will be driven by a 160 kW central traction motor. The energy needed to propel the vehicles will be stored in a set of batteries of the latest generation — Solaris High Energy+, boasting a total capacity of 237 kWh. They will be recharged using a plug-in connector and a so-called inverted pantograph — power collectors will be installed on the roof of vehicles, to which the pantograph, permanently mounted on the mast of the stationary charger, will be lowered for the duration of the recharging process.”
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