Expert bus repower company Kleanbus has completed the development of its first advanced modular electric platform, installing the pioneering system into its first prototype vehicle.
Combining e-powertrain components with its integration technology and proprietary software, Kleanbus’s ‘e-drivetrain in a box’ can convert a bus, whether single or double decker, from ICE to fully electric quickly and cost-effectively, the company said.
Installed its first e-powertrain in an Optare Solo, Kleanbus is now accelerating its prototype testing programme, with dynamic development taking place at its facility in the east of England, it added. The company is entering pilot trials with key bus fleet operators too.
The company’s technology enables it to leverage a wide variety of batteries and motors, creating purpose-built e-powertrains tailored exactly to a bus operator’s needs. From its 9,000 sq ft facility, the Kleanbus repower programme consists of a full base vehicle evaluation and analysis of operator duty cycles, allowing a conceptual drivetrain to be modelled and validated through simulation, it said. In parallel, the diesel engine and all associated systems are removed.
The packaging space is fully digitised, and the design process progressed to create a bespoke electric drivetrain platform that will meet the operator’s duty cycle requirements. Once prototypes are created, they are subjected to a rigorous test and validation programme ahead of certification, the company said.
Once a model type e-drivetrain solution has been designed and tested it takes less than two weeks to repower an individual bus, the bus repowering company said. Operating costs are also dramatically lower, at a third of those of a conventional diesel bus while electric repowered buses from Kleanbus also cost significantly less than a new electric bus, it added.
“We are excited to accelerate our prototype testing programme, with pilot trials also starting this month with two bus operators,” said Joe Tighe, Co-Founder and CEO of Kleanbus. “Kleanbus also provides the complete solution to bus operators, with innovative financing and charging as part of the total package, making it easy to go zero emission.”