Electric Buses

The City of Montpellier confirmed that it canceled an order for 50 hydrogen fuel cell buses after realizing that it would be cheaper and more efficient to order battery-electric buses instead.

Coach bus and electric powertrain manufacturers Equipmake and Beulas have added a new member to their team to deliver all-electric double decker buses. The companies recently announced that Go-Ahead London, the largest bus operator in the capital, has joined as a partner. Go-Ahead London will begin in-service trials of the Jewel E electric buses on London streets beginning early next year.

Electrified commercial fleet developer Lightning eMotors has announced the sale of an all-electric double-decker coach bus that seats 70 passengers. The converted diesel coach now contains a 640 kWh battery pack installed by Lightning eMotors, offering an estimated range of over 200 miles. According to the company, this is the largest known battery capacity for this vehicle type.

African electric mobility company Opibus announced today that it has closed on a round of equity and grant fundraising totaling $7.5 million. According to the company, this the largest sum of money raised by an electric mobility company in all of Sub-Saharan Africa, eclipsing the previous by $4 million. Opibus now looks to use this investment money to continue to scale its operations in electric motorcycle and bus manufacturing in Africa.

Medium and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer Lion Electric Co. recently announced a conditional purchase order from Student Transportation of Canada (STC) for 1,000 of its all-electric Lion C school buses. The PO is dependent upon a grant of non-repayable contributions to STC under Canada’s Zero-Emission Transit Fund (ZETF). If approved, STC would become the largest operator of zero-emission buses in all of North America.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Gray County Wind Farm in Kansas is celebrating its 20th birthday.
• Austin approves a huge electric transit bus purchase – 197, to be precise.
• Clean energy now provides 25.22% of total US available installed generating capacity.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

Spanish bus builder Beulas has teamed up with electric powertrain manufacturer Equipmake to create the Jewel E, an electric double-decker bus that will begin service in London. The Jewel E can be equipped with a battery pack up to 543 kWh, the largest battery of any single axle double-decker electric bus, providing a max range of 250 miles on a single charge.

Following a Zero-Emission Bus Summit in the UK, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced that all new buses ordered by Transport for London (TfL) will be electric moving forward. The new policy falls in line with the UK capital’s previously set goal of making its entire bus fleet electric by 2037. Alongside the announcement, Khan announced an advanced timeline to see a fully-electric bus fleet by 2034, or perhaps even sooner.

Welcome one and all back to the Electric Vehicle Spotlight (EVS), where we at Electrek shine a light on specific companies bringing exciting new innovations and strategies to the world of electrified transport. Our latest EVS is on Opibus, a company headquartered in Kenya that was born out of a research project in Sweden.

By focusing on all-electric conversion kits for fleet vehicles, as well as manufacturing electric motorcycles and energy systems, Opibus is on a mission to implement clean electric mobility in the emerging markets of Africa.

Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, which is heavily dependent on diesel vehicles, is going to purchase up to 20 electric buses that will run along two routes.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• The US government has awarded grants for electric and hydrogen buses to 49 projects in 46 states.
• Connecticut boosts its electric vehicle rebates.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

US Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) announced late today that more than $5.4 million in federal grant funding will be awarded to the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority to purchase electric buses.

Miami-Dade County in Florida today announced it has bought 42 Proterra ZX5+ electric transit buses, featuring a total of 19 megawatt hours of battery storage capacity. The county also announced that it will install 75 Proterra chargers across three bus depots. Its first electric buses are slated to be delivered in 2022.

The first driverless electric shuttle buses hit the roads in the city of Cambridge in the UK yesterday as part of ground-breaking trials.

This week, Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation that would invest $25 billion to convert the entire US fleet of ICE school buses to electric vehicles. The bill would authorize federal grant money over the course of 10 years, and 40% of the funds would be specifically devoted to replacing school buses operating in mostly nonwhite, poorer communities.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Texas is expected to add record utility-scale solar in the next two years.
• West Virginia’s electric car drivers made a film about why they chose to embrace electric.
• The Welsh capital of Cardiff is getting 36 e-buses – the largest order outside of London to date.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

CaaS provider AMPLY Power announced today that it is partnering with Unique Electric Solutions (UES) to equip school buses and trucks with electrification, charging services, and vehicle-to-grid capabilities. AMPLY Power will oversee the collaboration that also includes Rhombus Energy Solutions with vehicles provided by Logan Bus Company.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• C40 mayors, transport workers, and unions call for stimulus funding for public transport.
• The EDF releases two sets of policy recommendations on heavy-duty truck electrification and infrastructure.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

Electrified powertrain manufacturer Cummins has delivered what it is calling the first fully operational vehicle-to-grid (V2G) school buses. Even though Lion Electric started testing the same V2G tech years ago. These buses are manufactured by Blue Bird and powered by Cummins to include DC fast charging and V2G capabilities. The two electric school buses are operational in school districts in Peoria, Illinois, about 2.5 hours south of Chicago.

General Motors gave Norway and its electric car success story the best possible promotion this week with their ‘No Way, Norway’ advertisement ahead of this Sunday’s Super Bowl LV. While Will Ferrell’s rallying cry has amused many and left others less impressed, in the absence of any actual electric cars to sell, it’s a conversational icebreaker at least. But there’s also a city in China with the biggest electric public transportation system in the world.

It’s an enormous state, but you gotta start somewhere: Alaska is getting its very first electric school bus, which was built by Thomas Built Buses in North Carolina.