Equipmake is to repower eight existing double-deckers to battery-electric for Newport Transport. Five are Alexander Dennis Enviro400s already with the operator and three will be diesel-electric hybrid Volvo B5LH models with Wrightbus bodywork sourced from the used market.
The Enviro400 conversions will be equipped with 382kW/h of battery capacity to deliver a 150 mile range for use on a mix of school and public services. The B5LHs will receive 218kW/h of energy storage. That will give a 90-mile range for use on school routes.
A first completed example will enter service in early 2024 and deliveries will be complete by the end of the current financial year, Equipmake says. The contract between the two parties is worth £1.48 million.
The repowers form part of ongoing electrification work by Newport Transport. That has seen a significant number of new battery-electric buses from Yutong enter service, along with four battery-electric coaches. Further new buses, including the first zero-emission double-deckers for the municipal, are on order.
Managing Director Scott Pearson (pictured) says that working with Equipmake on repower “is an obvious next step for us.” The supplier’s scalable zero-emission driveline “is cost effective and environmentally sustainable,” he believes.
“We are hugely excited to begin the conversion of these eight buses and see them on the roads of the local area. Our school routes are a vital element of our service, transporting hundreds of students each day. These buses will continue to serve an important community purpose, but with the added benefit of doing so emission free.”
Equipmake CEO Ian Foley says that the supplier is pleased to see its repower technology going forward into vehicles that will be used on school services. Mr Foley has underlined previous comments that repower of existing vehicles represents a straightforward way to achieve zero-emission, “while making significant cost savings in parallel.”
Equipmake first showed a repowered Volvo B5LH at the ALBUM conference in Blackpool in 2022. Since then it has begun work with First Bus to reengineer a batch of already zero-emission Optare Versa EV models in York with its driveline. The supplier’s first battery-electric coach repower project has also commenced.
