The electrification specialist has revealed the latest generation of diesel bus retrofit solutions, to repower mid-life vehicles
Heavy vehicle electric conversion specialist KleanDrive has unveiled the latest version of its electric bus repowering solution, bringing what it says is now segment-leading usable battery capacity, range, purchase price and operating costs to the bus fleet industry. Adopting CATL Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery cells and Voith motors in its drivetrain, housed with all power electronics in a framework and skid system, KleanDrive’s powertrain has a usable battery capacity of 324kWh (352kWh gross), enabling a claimed range of 195 miles at 50% passenger occupancy.
Delivering a purchase price saving of £300,000 over a new battery electric bus, KleanDrive says a vehicle repowered with its technology also offers a third of the operating costs of a diesel bus. Fully modular and scaleable, KleanDrive says its plug-and-play system allows the whole drivetrain to be rapidly fitted or removed from where the diesel engine was previously housed, with a layout optimised for efficiency, reliability and ease of routine maintenance, minimising running costs and maximising time on the road. Designed for volume manufacturing offsite, KleanDrive’s powertrain can be installed in partnership with a fleet operator’s technicians, while all of the software has been developed by the company to manage the interaction between the original vehicle and the new drivetrain, while operating both with maximum efficiency.
CEO of KleanDrive Joe Tighe said: “We have developed a battery cell and motor agnostic drivetrain system, which can rapidly incorporate fully warranted new technologies in
this incredibly fast-moving market. By working with industry-leading suppliers – as opposed to developing individual components in-house – we give customers access to the best technology in the class in a system that has been designed to be efficient, easy to service, cost effective and reliable.
“Using CATL’s LFP chemistry cells gives us more usable capacity than competitors’ larger gross capacity Nickel, Manganese Cobalt battery packs, translating to a class-leading 195 miles of range at 50% passenger load. At the same time, we are making conversions much more time efficient, with our modular, plug-and-play system capable of being installed in partnership with the fleet operator’s technicians in their own workshop. “
For an operator this means their buses stay in their facility, with no need to transport them to us for conversion, saving time, money and carbon footprint, while empowering the operator’s technicians to work on the vehicle for routine maintenance after conversion. Factor in the huge upfront purchase price saving over a new electric bus and the game-changing saving in operating costs and our solution ticks all the boxes.”
