Repower specialist appeals to government to match ScotZEB funding
Expert bus repower company Kleanbus has called on the UK Government to incentivise the price of a repowered electric bus in England and Wales.
Speaking on Clean Air Day at Zemo’s 20th Anniversary Conference in London, Lucy Parkin Director of ESG at Kleanbus addressed the significant opportunities in reducing urban pollution through repowering – converting an existing diesel or hybrid bus to electric power – which is fast and cost-effective.
However, with no funding available to reduce the price of a repowered bus, Kleanbus urges the UK Government to not wait on initiating a strategy that includes this vital upcycling technology, which has a huge role to play in decarbonising the bus fleet of England & Wales.
Kleanbus applauds funding initiatives such as that led by Transport Scotland’s ScotZEB, which acknowledges the pivotal role of repowering and offers £50,000 grants to make SMEs access and expedite the transition of diesel buses to zero emissions.
However, wider funding is necessary for this crucial transition. Clean air is essential for mental health, and Kleanbus calls upon the UK government to follow Scotland’s lead in prioritizing the transition of the bus fleet to zero emissions. The impact of air pollution is evident, and taking swift action is vital to protect the health and well-being of these communities.
Joe Tighe, CEO of Kleanbus, commented: “There are also over 750,000 school children in the UK who rely on bus services to commute to school, but many of these services operate with highly polluting vehicles due to financial constraints. The presence of these pollutants near schools poses a risk to the health and well-being of the next generation.
Joe Tighe
“Repowering existing buses by replacing their diesel engines or hybrid powertrains with fully electric powertrains is the fastest and most cost-effective method to achieve a zero-emission bus fleet. By doing so, it could bring about fully electric bus fleets six years earlier than relying on the roll out of new zero emission buses alone. This could give a potential saving of over 4Mt CO2 and reduce emissions by up to 80% across a vehicle’s lifecycle.”
Kleanbus offers an advanced ‘ePowertrain Module’ which combines components from leading Tier 1 suppliers with its own integration technology and proprietary software. This innovative solution enables the rapid and cost-effective conversion of single- or double-deck buses from internal combustion engines to fully electric power. Once the e-drivetrain solution is designed and tested, repowering an individual bus takes less than two weeks, minimising service disruptions.
Not only does this conversion significantly reduce emissions, says Kleanbus, but it also lowers operating costs to a third of those associated with conventional diesel buses.