Bus repower company Kleanbus revealed the first images of its advanced modular platform technology, which it claims, can turn any bus, whether single or double-decker, from ICE to fully electric quickly and cost-effectively.
With climate change escalating and poor air quality in cities reaching critical levels, decarbonising transport has become one of the greatest challenges of our time.
Electrification is the most viable way for bus operators to go green, but new electric buses are expensive and can take many months to join a fleet from order placement to delivery.
Repowering – removing the diesel engine or hybrid powertrain from an existing bus, and replacing it with a fully electric powertrain – is the fastest and most cost-effective method to transition the UK bus fleet to zero-emission, and Kleanbus’ advanced solution can accelerate that changeover thanks to the company’s unique technology.
Joe Tighe, Co-Founder and CEO, Kleanbus said: “With 97 percent of UK buses powered by diesel engines that emit large amounts of carbon, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter and a staggering 35,000 of them on the road, the country faces a major challenge to rapidly decarbonise this vital transport sector and is struggling to move quickly enough”.
This approach means that Kleanbus can take advantage of the very latest componentry, enabling it to leverage a wide variety of batteries and motors, creating purpose-built e-powertrains tailored exactly to a bus operator’s needs.
The e-motors used by Kleanbus also do not have magnets, so use no rare earth materials at all, demanding less of the planet’s resources and limiting the disastrous impact of rare earth metals production.
The Kleanbus repower programme consists of a full evaluation of the vehicle, removal of its diesel engine and all associated ICE components, scanning and prototyping of the vehicle’s interior, design of a bespoke platform, installation of a new e-drive, build, full testing process and final certification.
Once a bespoke e-drivetrain has been designed and tested it takes less than two weeks to repower an individual bus, getting the vehicle back in service in as little time as possible.
Electric repowered buses from Kleanbus also cost one-fifth of a new electric bus – but with Kleanbus’ partnerships with finance providers, operators can choose several ways in which to finance their vehicle, ranging from paying for the vehicle upfront and leasing the battery, to paying nothing upfront and leasing both the vehicle and the battery. In this way, operators can fund the cost of the repower through operating revenue, maximising the business case.
Kleanbus also arranges for an operator’s depot to be upgraded with appropriate charging technology, enabling them to go electric without having to contact third parties.