These days, I’m just as excited about the electrification of vehicles like school buses and garbage trucks as I am about passenger cars. Replacing a hot and noisy gasoline or diesel powertrain with batteries and electric motors makes life better for the drivers (and riders, in the case of a bus), with less noise and vibration—benefits that extend to everyone else in the area, too.
Even better is that school districts around the country are in the process of electrifying their bus fleets. Montgomery County, Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia have both announced ambitious plans that also involve using the buses as vehicle-to-grid energy storage when they’re not in use.
The District of Columbia, which is sandwiched between Montgomery County and Northern Virginia, is also finalizing its electrification roadmap. Unlike its suburban neighbors, its fleet of buses are the smaller Type A buses, but there’s an ever-growing selection of these vehicles to choose from.
Colorado-based Lightning eMotors, which we last saw electrifying Transit vans for DHL Express, is now getting into the school bus game, partnering with Collins Bus, a leading manufacturer of the smaller yellow school buses.
The bus uses a Ford E-450 chassis, but instead of a thirsty V6, V8, or V10, Lightning supplies a 396 hp (295 kW), 878 lb-ft (1,190 Nm) electric motor, fed by a 127-kWh battery pack. AC charging is a bit more powerful than most passenger electric vehicles, at 19.2 kW. The buses can also DC fast-charge at 60 kW and will be capable of vehicle-to-grid interactions. The first buses are scheduled for delivery this fall.
“Collins has decades of bus manufacturing experience and is a long-standing leader in Class A school buses, with a well-established and loyal dealer network and customer base,” said Tim Reeser, CEO of Lightning eMotors. “We are thrilled that they have selected us to be their EV technology partner. There are nearly half a million school buses in the US that are sitting at peak electric times available to put energy back on the grid, making student transportation a key part in reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.”
https://arstechnica.com/?p=1790821