Volvo currently possesses the world’s most efficient hybrid solution for buses and trucks. The company Volvo Buses has sold over 250 hybrid buses to date, which reduce fuel consumption by up to 35%, while equally lowering energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions.
– The most important task facing us is to reduce total global energy consumption – says Håkan Karlsson, President of Volvo Buses. – The bus is already the most energy-efficient means of public transport, and our hybrid model will strengthen its position as the most environmentally friendly vehicle. However, we must continue to reduce energy consumption, which for us in the bus industry means finding solutions that increase the use of electric energy.
With the support of authorities, including the Swedish Energy Agency, Volvo is developing a plug-in bus model. It is essentially the same Volvo hybrid bus as before, where braking energy is recovered and used by the electric motor. However, a new type of battery and charging equipment will allow the battery to be charged from the power grid.
According to the presented concept, battery charging stations will be located at the final stops of bus lines. Charging the batteries for five to ten minutes could significantly extend the bus’s operating time solely on electric energy, enabling it to cover a distance of up to 10 km. Furthermore, it would be possible to reduce noise levels and eliminate local pollutant emissions.
The system allows the bus to operate on electric energy in densely populated or environmentally sensitive areas, while a diesel engine can be used on the rest of the route. The described technology will allow for a significant reduction in energy consumption due to the very high efficiency of electric motors.
– We expect to be able to reduce energy consumption in a city bus by about 65% compared to current vehicles with diesel engines – says Håkan Karlsson. – Moreover, the plug-in hybrid bus will allow for a reduction in diesel fuel consumption, and thus carbon dioxide emissions, by over 75%.
Volvo Buses plans to have a prototype bus ready for testing in 2011. The next step will be taken in the autumn of 2012, when field tests of three plug-in hybrid buses will begin in Gothenburg. The buses put into service will carry passengers on line number 60.
The project related to field tests will be implemented in cooperation with the Gothenburg Business Region, the Gothenburg Traffic Office, Västtrafik, and Göteborgs Energi, which will be responsible for the charging stations. The project has received a grant of 1.4 million euros from Life+, an EU program supporting pro-ecological investments.
– It is important that we are able to develop new energy-efficient solutions as quickly as possible – notes Ulf Gustafsson, Head of Public Affairs at Volvo Buses. – We are counting on success thanks to the accumulated knowledge of the companies, organizations, and authorities that are co-investing in the project.
It is not yet known when the bus will be introduced for sale.
– It will take a few more years – estimates Håkan Karlsson. – But we are convinced that this is a key step on the road to more efficient public transport and significant support for efforts to reduce global energy consumption.