The biggest issues for electric buses to overcome before mass adoption are range and cost, with the biggest barrier being the cost and weight of the batteries. The ability to run for 18 hours and 200 miles is the benchmark against which electric buses will be measured if they are to move beyond being niche products within the bus industry. Equipmake and Capoco believe that the solution to this problem is a ground up redesign of the vehicle, to significantly reduce the unladen weight, along with the introduction of new, non electrical, energy storage technologies and management systems to reduce the battery requirement for the vehicle. Existing electric buses have reduced passenger capacity compared with their diesel powered equivalents due to the weight of the batteries required for 150 – 200 mile daily range. The result of this project will be a cost effective electric bus with a real world range which will meet the needs of bus operators, without the need for in service recharging.

Following 10 years of Research and Development, Equipmake, a leading developer of electric drivetrain technology, based in Snetterton, Norfolk, is now ready to take the final step into full series production. Benefitting from government funding under the Innovate UK IDP programme, and the Advanced Propulsion Centre initiatives, Equipmakes class leading technology has resulted in supplying product to companies globally, including Argentina, Russia, China, Japan and Europe. Having grown from 3 people to over 60, Equipmake is now planning to meet demand from these customers by scaling up its manufacturing facility. Under this project, Equipmake will collaborate with Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG). WMG has significant expertise in the design and development of flexible scalable manufacturing systems for electric motor and power electronic manufacture. WMG and Equipmake will develop a plan to manufacture between 1000, 20000 motor inverter units PA at a new site adjacent to Equipmakes existing facility.

Cities globally are under pressure to improve local air quality and reduce CO2 emissions. This has created a market pull for zero emission buses.However market adoption has been slow as current solutions are too expensive and heavy, mainly due to the cost and size of the battery pack required. The heating, cooling and ventilation (HVAC) of an electric bus can use as much energy as for traction. By novel integration of the HVAC the energy required and therefore battery capacity can be reduced by 30%. This project will deliver a truly cost effective electric bus via novel integration of the HVAC, and will incorporate a new novel vehicle wiring solution from Potenza Technologies which will simplify the wiring loom significantly. The project is a collaboration which also includes leading traction battery manufacturer Nissan, one of the largest bus manufacturers in Brazil, Agrale, leading power electronics supplier Semikron, UK gear manufacturing company DePe, and bus testing experts CSA Testing.The projects collaborative and specialist sub-contract partners will enable the consortium to get to market with a relaible product in the shortest possible time.

Concerns over poor air quality in cities and CO2 emissions of vehicles is leading to the demand that all vehicles, including commercial vehicles, operate with zero emissions in city centres. Buses and commercial vehicles currently use engine driven compressors to supply compressed air for brake and suspension operation. This project will develop a high speed electrically driven turbine compressor for this application which will be significantly lighter, more efficient and cheaper than existing solutions. This game changing development will lead to more rapid introduction of zero emission buses and commercial vehicles

The Battery n-Life Project assesses the technical and commercial feasibility of reusing EV and PHEV batteries for stationary applications. The study identifies the key considerations of battery availability, degradation, reconfigurations requirements and n-life application cost benefit analysis. Future battery availability is a function of vehicle purchase cost and total cost of ownership, which are in turn dependent on purchase model. Also, battery recycling cost also increases the market for n-Life applications. An assessment of battery degradation indicates that significant value will remain in traction batteries at end of vehicle life, especially in EVs. However clarity is needed for n-Life customers on late onset accelerated degradation to quantify risk. Batteries of different chemistries, impedances or capacities may be reconfigured together in one application. This requires advanced management to avoid high power electronics costs. A cost benefit analysis of used batteries for a variety of n-Life applications is presented in context of existing storage options. This is accompanied by a set of case studies; renewables integration, community storage and upgrade deferral.