Cost Effective Electric Bus (CELEB)

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.