3 minute read
Next stop: SA buses going green
by Boylen
Adelaide Metro has introduced its first fully electric, batterypowered bus into South Australia’s public network.
The bus was imported from Scania in Sweden in component form and assembled by BusTech in Adelaide. BusTech then built a version of its existing VST body, modified for electric propulsion, onto the chassis, before it was delivered to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport.
Nine more buses will go into body building during 2024, taking the total on the road to 10.
Manfred Streit, Managing Director of Scania Australia, described it as “a tangible first step on the road to a transformational public transport future”.
“Globally Scania has been working on transitioning to a zero tailpipe bus solution for many years and we have several cities in Europe already well advanced in their integration of Scania’s 100 per cent battery power buses into their fleets.”
Hydrogen
In collaboration with Foton Mobility, BOC and H2H Energy, operator Torrens Transit is trialling two Foton Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses represent a rapidly emerging, green alternative technology.
HFC trials and fleet implementations are increasingly occurring across public transport networks globally from London to Beijing and Cologne, which has a similar population size to Adelaide.
The benefits of hydrogen-powered vehicles over battery electric buses include faster refuelling and greater range, which may be critical to delivering services to the outer metro areas and into the regions.
“The State Government will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to adopt any technology and develop solutions that reduce emissions and provide a superior passenger experience,” said SA Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Tom Koutsantonis.
“We will leave no stone unturned in the quest to employ cleaner, greener and more efficient technologies across the public transport system that help achieve net zero emissions by 2050 - or even earlier.”
MTA SA/NT CEO Darrell Jacobs and General Manager of Apprenticeships Jodi Ryan recently had the opportunity to visit Torrens Transit’s Morphettville depot for an exclusive look at one of the first two hydrogen buses being trialled in South Australia.
“The MTA is watching the trial with great interest” said Mr Jacobs further adding that, “we are definitely seeing some merit in the application of hydrogen fuel cell technology in heavy transport applications.”
Other developments
Scania is continuing to push into a range of solutions, not all of them fully electric.
Last year, it announced that trucks using Scania’s 13-litre biogas engines in Europe could achieve 5 per cent fuel savings, with a range of up to 1,800 km.
“Biomethane fuels are definitely the solution for those customers who want to start a decarbonisation journey without any delay,” said Ola Henriksson, Senior Product Manager for Renewable Fuels at Scania Trucks.
In other news, it is now selling its 25P 100 per cent battery electric truck in Australia.
It features a mid-mounted permanent magnet electric machine fed by nine large lithiumion batteries with a total output of 300 kW/h in place of the traditional diesel powertrain. Range is up to 250 km.
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