Old diesel-powered buses of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will be converted into electric buses under a joint project of the transport utility, the Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT) and Toshiba.
Quick charging
What is special about this initiative is that the buses will be fitted with lithium-titanium-oxide (LTO) batteries which can be charged in 10 to 20 minutes using pantograph charging systems during stopovers at bus stations. The buses will be equipped with rooftop charging receivers that facilitate overhead charging using pantograph arms.
The project will see the engines, gearbox and transmission systems of KSRTC buses older than five years replaced with battery, battery management system (BMS) and Motor Control Unit (MCU). “Toshiba will be supplying the battery. As the buses will use a quick-charging system, passengers need not be kept waiting,” ANERT director Narendra Nath Veluri told The Hindu.
Pilot project
