New range specifications for electric buses from Daimler Buses: Realistic data thanks to new battery models

• NMC4 battery technology calls for new calculation basis
• Practical: range specification stating the underlying conditions

While consumption in litres per 100 kilometres is a measure of economic efficiency in buses fitted with a combustion engine, the range of an electrically powered bus is the starting point to determine its basic suitability for a particular application. Information on possible ranges is therefore an essential criterion when comparing different vehicle models or equipment.

With Regulation (EU) 2017/2400, the EU has attempted to create a standard for calculating and measuring CO2 emissions from trucks and buses with combustion engines. However, due to the use of different battery technologies, the simulation and measurement procedures prescribed in Regulation (EU) 2017/2400 are only partially suitable for determining realistic ranges for electric buses. After all, these depend on numerous parameters: installed battery capacity, battery age, ambient temperature, duration and intensity of use of ventilation, heating and air conditioning, topography, driving style and much more. Extensive tests and measurements by the manufacturers under a wide range of conditions are therefore indispensable.

NMC4 battery technology calls for new calculation basis

While the previous range specifications of Daimler Buses referred to ranges that could be achieved under unfavourable conditions, such as in winter weather, and up to the end of the battery service life, the practical experiences of customers throughout Europe gathered over several years have shown that in practice these unfavourable conditions only occur in very rare cases and the range specifications were therefore unrealistically low for most operations. At the same time, the introduction of NMC4 battery technology with prismatic cell geometry and modified cell chemistry leads to different battery behaviour, e.g. with regard to its fast charging capability and the usable energy over its service life.

Practical: range specification stating the underlying conditions

Daimler Buses has therefore decided to provide range specifications for electric buses in the future, stating the underlying conditions applied for the measurement. This enables customers to put the information into context more easily and to compare it with their own conditions, for example with regard to topography, and leads to realistic values that can be achieved in practice by the vast majority of electric bus fleets. 

Daimler Buses range data in comparison              

* Equipped with maximum battery capacity.

** Equipped with maximum battery and H2 capacity.