If you’re fortunate enough to live in a city that has a practical, easy-to-use, and functional public transportation system (no Atlanta I’m not talking about you) then you’ve probably been a frequent passenger on a large city bus, which is most often fueled by diesel. While the air, and noise, pollution these diesel behemoths belch out are environmental concerns in their own right, their awful fuel efficiency of only several miles per gallon is an even bigger problem; not just economically, but environmentally as well.
This week in Washington, D.C. (home of the ceremonial EV/hybrid unveiling), a new fast-charging hybrid bus from Proterra was unveiled that may be the first step toward a much more fuel efficient and zero-emission public transit system. The bus from the Colorado-based comapny utilizes Altairnano batteries; a high energy density lithium-titanate battery produced by Altair Nanotechnologies that incorporates nanotechnology to achieve a higher energy storing capacity than most traditional lithium-ion batteries. The batteries enable the bus to travel 20-30 miles on a single charge and recharge completely in 5-10 minutes via a drive-under rooftop charger. This fast charge time could effectively make the Proterra bus a zero-emission (vehicle itself; not the emissions from the power plant charging it) as it could charge in a timely manner at both ends of its route.
From Proterra’s press release:
Proterra’s initial product, a thirty-five foot all-electric transit bus, has been designed from the ground up to enable transit agencies to replace conventional diesel buses on a one-for-one basis with the world’s first all-electric buses operating 24/7. This is accomplished by combining Proterra’s light-weight composite body, highly efficient ProDrive™, advanced TerraVolt™ energy storage system (powered by Altairnano batteries) and on-route rooftop FastCharging™ station to charge the batteries in 5-10 minutes. The vehicle achieves between 18 and 29 miles per gallon diesel fuel equivalent fully loaded with 68 passengers — 500% better than a comparable diesel bus.
Production of Proterra’s transit bus using lithium-titanate batteries supplied by Altairnano could create over 6,000 green jobs in 21 states. A fleet of 500 buses operating over 12 years could cut emissions of CO2 by 840,000 tons and reduce oil consumption by 82 million gallons.
23 public transit authorities in 11 states, as well as several international agencies, have already placed requests to purchase the vehicles for their transit systems with California being the first state to see the buses rolling along its streets. One problem exists though, the buses are not yet built. The one unveiled in D.C. is a prototype, but plans are underway to begin production the fist of next year as there is already a clear demand for the vehicles but nationally and internationally.
The Good: A cleaner and more more fuel-efficient public bus that can be fully charged in less than 10 minutes.
The Bad: The price for these buses has still not been released, but one can assume that they will initially be much greater than typical diesel-powered buses. Production still has not begun. Maintenance and operational infrastructure will be obstacles to overcome. Unless charged from clean renewable energy sources, the buses will not be truly ‘zero-emission’ vehicles.
The Bottom-Line: A viable, and seemingly practical, candidate for the next generation of cleaner more environmentally-friendly public transit vehicles
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