econnect Germany – performance and evaluation of an electrically propelled minibus for public transportation

Within the econnect project and its predecessor project SmartWheels, which are both funded by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), a battery electric passenger bus on the basis of a Mercedes Sprinter City 65 has been developed and tested on public roads. Driving without local emissions, high energy efficiency and reduced energy costs for driving are the main advantages of electric drivetrains compared to conventional ones. Otherwise the limited energy content of the battery reduces range and availability of electric propelled vehicles. Passenger buses in public transportation systems are usually driving on specified inner-urban routes and have an average driving speed of ca. 20 km/h. Next to that the breaks at the end of service offer the possibility to recharge the battery so that the average daily driving distance can be easily covered by the developed electric bus. At the EVS 26 in 2012 ika has presented the design and concept of the electric bus [1]. This paper presents the results of test drives on urban and extra-urban bus routes. Some of the routes have also a significant elevation profile. A second bus with a conventional diesel engine was also used on the same routes so that a detailed comparison and evaluation of the electric and the diesel propelled bus has been made. All test drives have been carried out in or near the city of Aachen.