VoloCity, the world's first operating electric air taxi

VoloCity electric air taxi (Source: CleanTechnica)

Volocopter has produced an electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically (an eVTOL). Volocopter has called this one the VoloCity Air Taxi, which is the first-to-fly certified air taxi. Volocopter is based in Germany but has trialled VoloCity in Stuttgart, Helsinki and Singapore.

It is expected that VoloCity will be operational in two to three years. Bookings are available now anywhere in the world for the first public flights of 15 minutes duration.

Read more: 

- Volocopter opens world's 1st electric air taxi flight reservations. CleanTechnica, September 16, 2020. 

- Volocopter: https://www.volocopter.com/en/

London bus depot to provide vehicle-to-grid power during peaks

 

E-buses (Source: The Driven)

A North London bus depot is on the verge of becoming one of the world’s largest vehicle-to-grid (V2G) virtual power stations. The Northumberland Park bus garage will be transformed to be part of UK’s Bus2Grid project. 

The project will enable electric buses parked at the garage to plug in and feed stored electricity back into the grid to provide grid balancing during times of peak demand. It was announced by British energy firm SSE Enterprise and is being conducted in collaboration with bus operator Go-Ahead London. 

A trial will test 28 electric double-decker buses, which are capable of returning over 1MW of electricity back into the grid. The project could then be expanded by the end of 2021 to include the capability of connecting up to 700 electric vehicles to the grid, supplying as much as 25MW of electricity. 

Read more: 

- London bus garage becomes one of world’s largest vehicle-to-grid sites. The Driven, August 14, 2020. 

– London bus garage becomes world’s largest vehicle-to-grid-site. SSE Enterprise. Accessed August 18. 2020.

ACT’s first electric bus starts service - the aim is zero transport emissions

The ACT government's first electric bus (Source Twitter)

On its way to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, Canberra’s local government purchased its first electric bus which started operation this week. CanberraTransport runs the bus fleet and it plans to have 100% zero emission vehicles (including light rail) by 2040.

In October 2019, the ACT achieved its goal of 100% renewable electricity target by 2020 (three months early) with the start of deliveries of power from the Hornsdale Stage 3 109MW wind farm in South Australia. So with the grid having 100% renewable electricity, the bus is greenhouse gas emissions free.

It is now looking to reduce the next largest source of carbon emissions, transport, which now makes up 60% of the ACT’s emissions thanks to the decarbonisation of the ACT grid, as part of a wider plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. Therefore many more electric buses will joint the fleet.

The bus is a Yutong Electric E12, which is a more modern electric bus than those previously trialled in 2017 and has already proved successful in other jurisdictions. It has an approximate 400km driving range before needing to recharge at the Tuggeranong Depot.

Read more:
- ACT introduces first electric bus on path to zero transport emissions. The Driven, November 12, 2019.
See also:
- NSW unveils plan to switch Sydney’s 8,000 buses to all electric. The Driven, October 28, 2019.
- Victorian-made electric buses ready to run. Manufacturers’ Monthly, October 30, 2019.

California to move to 100% all-electric public buses by 2040

Chinese automaker BYD building electric buses in Lancaster, California (NYT)

In December 2018, the Californian Government released its strategy to transition to an all-electric public bus fleet. The EVs will include battery and fuel cell electric buses. As their electricity grid moves to renewable power, so is the government looking to increase its supply of renewable hydrogen (that is: H₂ from H₂O via electrolysis powered by renewables).

“Starting in 2029, mass transit agencies in California will only be allowed to buy buses that are fully electric…Under the new rule, the state’s transit agencies will need to start updating their fleets well before 2029. Starting in 2023, a quarter of their new buses must be electric, and by 2026 that requirement will rise to half of all new buses.” (NYT).

“The agency, the California Air Resources Board, said it expected that municipal bus fleets would be fully electric by 2040. It estimated that the rule would cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases by 19 million metric tons from 2020 to 2050, the equivalent of taking four million cars off the road.” (NYT).

Read more:
California transitioning to all-electric public bus fleet by 2040. California Air Resources Board, December 14, 2018.
California requires new city buses to be electric by 2029. The New York Times, December 14, 2018.

"Electric buses are hurting the oil industry"

About 279,000 barrels a day of fuel won’t be needed this year mostly due to the fact that China adds a London-sized electric bus fleet every five weeks.

"Buses with battery-powered motors are a serious matter with the potential to revolutionize city transport—and add to the forces reshaping the energy industry. With China leading the way, making the traditional smog-belching diesel behemoth run on electricity is starting to eat away at fossil fuel demand."

"The numbers are staggering. China had about 99 percent of the 385,000 electric buses on the roads worldwide in 2017, accounting for 17 percent of the country’s entire fleet. Every five weeks, Chinese cities add 9,500 of the zero-emissions transporters—the equivalent of London’s entire working fleet, according Bloomberg New Energy Finance."

All this is starting to make an observable reduction in fuel demand. And because buses consume 30 times more fuel than average sized cars, the electric buses' impact on energy use so far has become much greater than that of the EV passenger sedans sold so far.

“China is ahead on electrifying its fleet because it has the world’s worst pollution problem. With a growing urban population and galloping energy demand, the nation’s legendary smogs were responsible for 1.6 million extra deaths in 2015, according to non-profit Berkeley Earth.”

Read on at: "Electric buses are hurting the oil industry". Bloomberg Technology, April 24, 2018.

See also: 100% percent electric buses to be in Chinese city by end 2017. Using Renewables, November 22, 2017.

100% percent electric buses to be in Chinese city by end 2017

Image from CleanTechnica

The move to electric vehicles (EVs) in China is happening quickly with reduction of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions the main motivators. Shenzhen city with a population of 11.9 million people has a love of EVs and already has 14,000 electric buses but plans to have its entire bus fleet electric by the end of this year.

Read more: 100% Electric bus fleet for Shenzhen (population 11.9 million) by end of 2017. By Nicolas Zart, 12 Nov 2017, CleanTechnica.

Canberra trials electric and hybrid buses

Electric bus on trial in Canberra - Photo by Rohan Thomson

The 12-month trial involves leasing two all-electric buses from Carbridge and one hybrid bus from Volvo by the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) government. The results will decide which technology will replace the territory's ACTION bus service's ageing diesel fleet. The electric buses have a range of about 430 kilometres on route operations.

The ACT government has a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2020. Transport currently makes up 25% of the ACT's emissions and rolling out the buses would help with climate change mitigation. Canberra is also moving towards a target of 100% renewable energy in electricity provision by 2020, so the electric buses will gradually use more and more renewable energy to charge the batteries.

For more information see The Canberra Times - 25 August 2017