Electric Boulevards
| Duration | Feb 2013 - Jan 2016 |
|---|---|
| Regions |
|
Project Description
Arup and Mitsui led a joint-venture to determine the technical and commercial feasibility of decarbonising an existing public transport route around Milton Keynes with the introduction of a number of pure electric buses.
The conventional diesel powered buses servicing this route were entirely replaced by an electric bus fleet developed by Wright Bus and operated by Arriva. This is the first scheme in the UK to replace an existing fleet with electric multi-passenger vehicles. It is also the first scheme in the UK to use opportunistic wireless charging at a number of bus stops around the route to supply power to the vehicles.
This project has facilitated decarbonisation of the transport system by developing a standard connection policy for Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) chargers. Through monitoring of the HV and LV network before and after installation, the level of disturbance was assessed and quantified against existing limits. Furthermore, by trialling a number of connection arrangements and comparing traditional reinforcement methods with innovative techniques, the most appropriate scheme could be developed.
Western Power Distribution purchased and installed a third Conductix-Wampfler IPT charger to investigate the ability for deferral of charge during times of network constraint and will demonstrate the role of electrical vehicle to grid interaction.
Wired charging was required at the bus depot to top the vehicles up overnight and this project will investigated the advantages of allowing an intelligent system to manage the charging requirements of multiple vehicles. By spreading the load evenly across a longer time period rather than having the charging infrastructure run unconstrained, the need for expensive additional network reinforcement was removed.
Areas of Work
Inductive Power Transfer (IPT), AC/DC conversion, Harmonic Analysis and Mitigation, Reinforcement Deferral, Power Electronics, HV & LV Monitoring, Smart Charging, Active Networks.
Project Partners
Arriva, Arup, Cambridge University, Chargemaster, Conductix-Wampfler, Milton Keynes Council, Mitsui, SSE, TRL, Wright Bus