Jonathan Welch speaks to Kleandrive CEO Joe Tighe about the firm’s plans and its tie-up with FirstGroup
Whether you think it’s the right move or not, we can’t get away from the fact that the UK Government’s policy is to push forward with it’s decarbonisation agenda, and at the same time the public transport industry is striving to make the switch to zero-carbon, both to meet that agenda but also in the face of a growing realisation that zero-emission buses enhance the passenger experience and are less intrusive in urban environments. The deadlines are tight, and manufacturing capacity is limited, not to mention the scores of buses currently far from the end of their lives which could have longer futures with a new electric drivetrain, providing an electromobility solution at lower cost than a new bus.
Depending on your perspective, the investment in re-engineering is either a cost saving and an eco-benefit over building new buses, or a lot of money to spend on a bus with only a decade of service life left in it. One company which clearly sees the benefits or the retrofit solution is Kleandrive; FirstGroup also sees a future for the business model, having invested £1 million in Kleandrive last year, a sign of its confidence in both the repower route and the Kleandrive product. Launched initially with a view towards the bus market, Kleandrive has expanded its remit to include coaches, trucks and boats, with a focus on engineering sustainable repower solutions and helping push forward the zero-emission transition at lower cost to both finance and environment than building whole new vehicles.
Earlier this year, the company launched the latest generation of its plug-and-play system which it claims has a 195-mile maximum range thanks to a usable battery capacity of 324kWh (or 352kWh gross) from CATL LFP cells. The company says that a repowered bus costs £300,000 less than a new battery electric bus, whilst electric buses offer operating costs around a third of those of a diesel bus.
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