A prototype all-electric bus that its developers say can be driven from Melbourne to Sydney on a single charge was unveiled in Melbourne on Friday, ahead of a road-test on Saturday that will see it undertake the interstate journey.
The launch, held at Yuroke, one hour north of Melbourne’s CBD, by Australia-based company Brighsun, showcased a total of four prototype full electric buses ranging from high range capacity route service passenger buses to touring coaches.
Federal environment minister Greg Hunt attended the launch, and confirmed that the bus was officially certified, to international standards, to drive a huge 1004km on one charge. The next biggest range our research efforts could find for an electric bus was less than half of that, at about 402km, in a US model.
The buses run on a high performance lithium-ion battery combined with proprietary eMotor, battery management and a regenerative braking system.
Brighsun CEO Allen Saylav, also a director of the Society of Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia (SAE), said the technology behind the bus – in development for four years – had evolved from a desire to deliver clean, sustainable public transport options.
“We believe this technology could change the face of public transport around the world and with the use of the eVehicle propulsion system which creates long lasting life in vehicles,” Saylav said.
The company also has plans to open manufacturing plants for the e-buses across Australia. There was no information available, as yet, on the charging technology the buses will use, or the source of electricity, although comments from the company suggest renewable energy could be a part of the plan.
“New energy is key to Australia’s auto industry revitalisation,” said Saylav, “and we believe the eBus is the first step in the right direction for this to happen.
“We chose the heavy commercial passenger vehicle to showcase how high performance could be achieved in larger transportation options,” as well as in passenger cars.
Also attending the launch were delegates from the US, the Middle East and Asia, as well as key industry players including representatives from VLine, Fleet Partners and SkyBus.
*Update (12/11/15): A Brighsun spokesperson tells us the bus made the trip to Sydney successfully (see photo below), and we will be speaking to Saylav about the details of the journey, and for a general interview, in the coming week.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
This post was published on October 30, 2015 1:33 pm
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This is way better than the range of the current electric buses (BYD and Proterra) which are claimed to have maximum range of about 250 - 300 km (155 - 180 miles).
This looks like a brilliant machine.
I really get sick of buses idling continuously for up to 15-20 minutes at bus stations, gushing pollution and making too much noise. Multiply that by about 1000? buses across the country.
This new alternative will allow the motor to be off while stopped.
This seems too good to be true? I would like to believe it, but what has changed in the technology area to make this possible? The fuel consumption of a similar bus would not be very impressive and the same air resistance and rolling resistance apply. So the energy density of the batteries even with the improvement with the electric motor conversion efficiency it will still require a very large number of MJs and battery mass.
Unless they have a lithium air battery which has not been perfected as yet?
http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/10/lithium-air-battery-research-shows-potential-paths-to-next-gen-batteries/
It says quite clearly the batteries are li-ion. It's just a very big battery. Melbourne to Sydney on one charge is a publicity trip, unlikely to become a commercial run. I doubt very much they'd be called on to drive 1004km on one charge in regular service -- for one thing, they'd usually have plenty of passengers (more weight) and it surely wouldn't be good for even a large battery's lifespan to drain it so deeply on a regular basis.
Maybe they could have change-over buses half way parked to Sydney at 24-hour McDonalds to charge their batteries. Go Aussie Power!
Awesome news! I'd love some love someone first to actualy proof read read the article first though (sic).
And if I had a braking system I wouldn't want it to be a "breaking system" (sic).
So I take it you're a donor to RenewEconomy, Steve?
That would be relevant because?
No, just a stakeholder, although I am a monthly donor to 350.org.au, Climate Council and Carbon Neutral, plus occasional support for AYCC, Greens, Sustainable Energy Now and others.
But this is off topic.
Journalists should no hw 2 spel.
[edit: or at least their sub editors]
The reason it's relevant is that when a journal is free, daily, content-packed and really quite sanity-saving you need to be forgiving of copy flaws. Subeditors? You're kidding, aren't you?
Everyone who writes online should learn to copy-edit their own stuff. Period. It's just basic literacy, you can learn it in elementary school....
Great for motorhomes.. Many of which only travel a short distance in any day....
Amazing. I live by a bus route and many of them are empty off peak, paid for by taxpayer subsidy - I'm fed up with their pointless fumes.
This is impressive and good news for the environment.
Regenerative *braking*. Not breaking. Hopefully.
Shhhh. Better not let out manufacturing closing government find out about this. It may go the way of Ford. Holden. Toyota and not get made in Australia.
Can't have us making something clean and good for the environment.
Is there a place to load it up with coal ? The good for humanity fuel ?
If our power networks don't stop ripping us off then the grid's electricity will be to expensive to run the buses on. Or anything else for that matter.
10 billion per year for the next five years of completely pointless spending is their latest suggestion, and the regulator is letting them get away with it. Enough money to build a second NBN and they want to just waste it purely to enrich themselves.
A bit of groping around yielded so actual data:
The battery is 500kwh in the citybus and 518kwh in the tour coach version.
or 50kwh per 100km ~ 2.5 times that of a tesla, which is believable
While huge, the battery isn't outrageous:
About 5 tonnes for Leaf type battery density, or 2.5 tonnes if a Tesla type battery and eventually more like 1.5 tonnes.
At Tesla Powerwall prices for the battery, it's a $300,000 (US) battery. Buses typically cost anywhere from $300,000 to $1.2 million, though $400,000 might be a fair average.
So this is basically twice the upfront cost of a regular bus (a bit less). The question is how much the savings on energy usage and reduced maintenance / longer lifespan will defray that upfront cost.