Kleanbus completes construction of first repowered bus
By Luke Willetts - 1st February 2023
Kleanbus prototype
UK – Start-up retrofitter, Kleanbus Ltd* of Scarborough, UK, has completed the first battery-electric retrofit of a 2007 Optare UK Ltd Solo diesel bus, which is now undergoing testing at its facility in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The repower application in the Solo prototype has 280kW/h of battery capacity (DC charging only) and features a dual-motor solution from Sunderland-based Advanced Electric Machines Research Ltd.
This has been made possible with the first Kleanbus “advanced modular electric platform,” (a modular driveline package) which combines battery-electric powertrain components from Tier 1 suppliers with its own integration technology and proprietary software, with a conversion taking just 2 weeks once a system has been designed and tested. According to Kleanbus, conversions cost just 20% of the cost of a new Battery-electric bus and offer, when completed, significantly lower emissions.
