This news is hot off the wire
from yesterday!!!
From Wrightbus
London’s City Hall was the venue
for the launch today (30 November 2016) of the new Wrightbus – zero-emission
double deck bus. The zero-emission
vehicle debuts a new hydrogen fuel cell driveline from Wrightbus which will
rapidly become available to power both single deck and double deck buses as it
becomes fully production ready next year.
The new technology from the
Northern Ireland company provides a zero-emission drive system which
encompasses a hydrogen fuel cell and a battery pack to power the vehicle. The
combination of these two technologies makes the continuous daily operation of
the public transport vehicle feasible.
Offering a reliable system with
no emissions, all Wrightbus hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will feature an
electric drive axle packaged to allow a full flat floor throughout the bus, a
zero-emission heating/cooling system, the ability for overnight charging if the
operator desires, and remote diagnostics. Key to the success of this concept
are the lightweight hydrogen storage tanks, and the automatic battery
management system which continuously monitors and balances the stored power
while the vehicle is in service.
Dr William Wright CBE,
Co-Founder & Director of Wrights Group, said: “Wrightbus is a company where
innovation and technology is at the core of everything we do, and we have led
the way in the practical development of clean vehicle technology in buses over
many years. This vehicle joins the recently launched StreetAir EV and brings an
interesting new dimension to zero-emission bus technology offering transport
operators a responsible choice to help address the world’s environmental
challenges.”
Adding to Dr Wrights
sentiment’s, Wrights Group Chairman and CEO Mark Nodder OBE, said: “This
exciting new zero-emissions driveline technology, developed with support from
our partner Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), is the pinnacle of our
on-going work to deliver highly innovative buses with the best possible fuel
consumption and environmental credentials that are supported throughout a long
and productive operational life.”
The project has been part funded
by the APC under a grant for common platforms and assembly methods for Ultra
Low Emission Buses.
Looking at the photo of the double deck hydrogen, it uses the Gemini 3
body as it’s manufactured by Wrightbus, and this raises the possibility of
having a hydrogen bus with two-door New Routemaster (SRM) bodywork.
Back in late 2007, it was proposed by Capoco that their New Routemaster design was to use hydrogen technology, but today it stands to be a three-door, two-staircase
diesel-electric hybrid bus designed by Thomas Heatherwick and manufactured by
Wrightbus.
Right now, anything can happen as we never expected the Volvo B5LHC with the SRM bodywork which uses the pantograph to recharge the bus
at the end of the bus route.
As always, I invite you to follow me on Twitter and Google Plus
which is @CLondoner92
