The Australian all-electric bus launched by Brighsun in Melbourne at the end of last month has set a new world record for the greatest distance covered by an electric bus on one charge, at 1,018km.
As we reported here in October, the prototype e-bus was launched at Yuroke, one hour north of Melbourne’s CBD, by Australia-based company Brighsun, as one of four full electric buses ranging from high range capacity route service passenger buses to touring coaches.
The buses combine a high performance lithium ion battery with proprietary eMotor, battery management and a regenerative braking system.
As part of the Melbourne launch, one bus – which is certified to international standards to drive 1004km on one charge (more than twice any current competitors) — successfully completed a road-trip to Sydney.
Last weekend, this same bus backed up its inter-state performance with a world-record breaking effort, travelling 1,018km on Victoria’s South Gippsland Highway, between Tooradin and Lang Lang.
What it means, said Brighsun communications director, Gladys Liu, is that commercial electric buses can now travel the whole day or interstate without having to find somewhere to recharge.
“We believe it will bring a whole new concept of public transport with no pollution to Australia and to the world.”
Liu said the company would continue to work on its electric vehicle propulsion technology, and on its vehicle range, which extended to commercial passenger and goods vehicles, operating intra-city and inter-regional country Victorian services.
Greens Senator, Janet Rice, welcomed Brighsun’s world record achievement as a “game changer” for low-carbon transport.
“This shows how electric buses can slash our carbon pollution and air pollution in our cities,” she said in a statement.
“The Greens look forward to seeing innovative companies like Brighsun manufacturing electric buses in Australia, creating jobs and being part of our clean energy future.”
As we reported here, the company also has plans to open manufacturing plants for the e-buses across Australia.
There is still 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 Brighsun CEO Allen 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.
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 November 20, 2015 1:12 pm
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This should be front page bloody news! Not that long ago I got caught behind a deisel bus that was spewing black crap out its exhaust pipe as it laboured up a hill ( not enough torque? ) and I thought "I wish someone would import those American or Chinese electric buses I've been reading about. Now it seems we have our own, home grown electric bus that is breaking records and will be manufactured in Australia!? This is huge. Where can I catch one? How do I get a job in their electric bus factory!!! Congratulations Brighsun. Mega achievement! How exciting is this!
It is front page bloody news! On OneStepOffTheGrid! And on RenewEconomy!
You're right! Point taken. And I congratulate you and thank you for all your articles! Thank goodness someone is noticing and reporting this stuff. But when are News Corp and Fairfax Media journalists and editors going to realise the importance of stuff like this. Will it be reported on the ABC and SBS? Does Malcolm Turnbull know about this? Could this save the S.A. automotive industry? Will it lead to Australia manufacturing its very own 100% electric car, the "OzE"? I can see I'm going to have to finally get a Twitter account so I can pester the crap out of our politicians about stuff like this. And there I was thinking I was going to enjoy a quiet, laid back retirement. And its all your fault Giles! If I die of a heart attack due to the excitment generated by reading articles on RenewEconomy and OneStepOffTheGrid........I'm gonna blame you fella!
Mainstream media will start reporting it when a battery storage, electric bus company takes them out to lunch, or to a corporate box at the cricket/football.
They should put in an "insane" button like the Tesla so the Bus can boost up the hills dragging you in its slipstream ;-)
That's progress. Would covering the bus roof with 20% solar panels help when parked etc?
The energy generated by a bus roof of panels isn't worth the bother. The approx roof dimensions are 12x2.5m or 30 sq m. Assuming the panels are NOT tilted toward the sun (flat on the roof), you lose roughly half of the output. A panel generates about 1 kWh/m^2 daily when mounted correctly, so this would be an additional 15 kWh of charge daily. With an expected 1000 kWh of batteries on board, you add 1.5% to the total charge in a day. The cost of that would be roughly another $30k+ and would require panels designed for the purpose (ie built-in panels, similar to roofing, not a strapping on of home panels like a science project). Keep in mind it also adds to the weight, which I ignored.
Yes totally agree it should be front page news Rob! You'd also be interested in the Volta Prize Competition check it out at voltaprize.org
Good luck with voltaprize Adam. You would think electric motors would suit prime movers because of the need for torque from a standing start and for hills so I hope you can make some inroads there. There are so many diesels out there spewing crap into the air that an electric alternative would have to vastly improve our air quality and carbon footprint.
heh when I was a kid you couldn't get an electric bus to run over 25 mph for more than an hour. And then replaced batteries twice a year. it's a good time to be an EV fan
That is GREAT news. Lets all support them. Stop to support the Ministers going on luxury
trips overseas. Give the money to that firm. Let them know we support and that we care.
Made it!
A great advancement for heavy vehicle transport but there are some questions that I am curious about. 1 - Was the bus full of passengers or empty on the test run? 2 - A commercial bus trip of this distance should take perhaps 10 hrs to cover that distance. This trip took 14hrs. That would mean that it averaged under 75k/h. If a conventional vehicle reduces its speed, it can increase its k/h. Was this vehicle driving slowly to establish a distance record or is there an issue with the drag on the batteries at higher speeds. 3 - What time or distance can be had in city traffic stop and go conditions. 4 - The question of recharge time is not addressed. It will no doubt be longer than a fill up thus limiting to total trip length before the passengers have to transfer to another bus and if the recharge has to rely on non renewable energy sources it just transfers the carbon footprint elsewhere. That's what happen when you recharge many electric vehicle today.
Great advancement yes, but questions like this need to be addressed before we can sell this produce as an efficient and viable alternative to dirty diesel.
So where do they think the electricity comes from to charge the batteries? And what about the environmental issue of building the batteries and then disposing of them when their usefulness is depleted? I agree the emissions that the bus is releasing while motoring down the roadway is negligible.... but the ancillaries to get to that point are as bad or worse than an efficient gasoline or diesel unit.
Even charged by the dirtiest, coal-fired steam turbine, it is 3 times more efficient and twice as clean as the best diesel piston engines. Batteries are not thrown away but recycled and go into reuse. Your allegations are not based on facts. It is true that not all environmental problems will be solved by having electric buses, but they are a great step ahead of diesel.
Do you know how environmentally unfriendly it is to build LI batteries??? And as far as recycling them that remains to be seen how well and environmentally conscious that process is. I have no idea where you get your info, other than you are brainwashed like most if the fear mongering environmentalists out there.
It's always going to be environmentally unfriendly to build Lithium batteries, but we can't say that the future for recycling them will always be bad. Most of our metals are recyclable, and we recycle materials because it is much cheaper to do so. The environmental benefit of recycling is just a bonus.
Fossil fuel use, on the other hand, won't ever get cheaper than it already is and won't ever be less hard on the environment than it already is. Essentially, we've already pushed that technology as far as we can and as cheap as we can. By comparison, batteries, renewables, etc. are still in their infancy and already showing promise at being better and cheaper overall. We just need the infrastructure to match.
Give it time.
I agree with what you have stated.... but everyone that is INTO electric replacement energy for any type of fossil fuel vehicle, usually, do not take into account the fact that the electricity to charge those units has got to come from someplace as well as the cost to the environment to build the batteries and then the disposal of the same. I think there is better alternatives than electricity - such as hydrogen or grain based fuels that are both renewable as well as much easier on the environment. Instead of wasting money on electric anything that is still going to require some type of fossil fuel to make and then the requirement of batteries to store the energy is counter productive. Spend the money on research for something that you PRODUCE to feed the engines without having a two step system, IE: 1) electricity 2) batteries.
There will always be at least two steps in any system that needs both energy storage and control of that energy, including diesel.
Count the moving parts in a diesel engine, and its efficiency in turning that energy into motion. < 30%.
In this political environment, where the federal government is ignoring science, subsidizing fossil fuels and subsidizing the destruction of our environment, being better for the environment simply means less subsidies and no federal government support.
Actually creating jobs in Australia is frowned upon.
It boils down to one question, is it cheaper than any other option for potential buyers ?
Hopefully the answer is yes.
I'm wondering what will eventually be the method with which we transport goods across the Nullarbor. Electric motors powered by fossil fuel cells?
Certainly it's imaginable that one day the only need for diesel (or variants like bio-diesel) will be for these long-haul trips.
Questions from a friend:
///How many passengers was it carrying and how many can it carry vs a diesel powered bus?
Was the air conditioning on?
Were the lights on i.e. What is its range at night?
I am familiar with the Mitsubishi iMiev, The one I have had experience is a few years old so I am unsure whether they have improved in performance.
This is my experience of the Mitsubishi.
If you drive from Newstead (Brisbane) to Southport (Gold Coast) a trip of approx 80klms with 3 people in the car and the aircon on you will need to recharge before making the return trip. I am not sure if you can do the trip at night with the lights on as well because no one has been game enough to try.///