Blue Bird Corporation is premiering its next-generation Vision electrical school bus at STN Expo West, a trainee transport market and innovation occasion in North America. The zero-emission vehicle will be on display screen for the very first time from 14-19 July 2023, inside the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada.
The Vision vehicle launch represents an ongoing collaboration in between Blue Bird and Accelera by Cummins, Cummins’ zero-emissions innovation business section.
This brand-new Type C electrical school bus includes a tested powertrain platform and a next-generation battery with a capability of 196 kWh, a more than 25%t capability boost compared to today’s design bus. The battery makes it possible for a vehicle series of as much as 130 miles on a single charge. The next-generation battery takes simply 3 hours to completely charge given that it supports a fast-charging rate of 80 kW.
In addition, Blue Bird enhanced the service warranty on the updated system to enable 360 MWh of energy throughput, more than double the quantity compared to the basic battery offering. This will benefit Blue Bird consumers who make use of the batteries’ revenue-generating vehicle-to-grid (V2G) abilities. V2G innovation enables EV fleet operators to offer excess energy saved in school bus batteries back to electrical power business at an earnings.
The next-generation compact and light-weight batteries add to enhanced performance and a vehicle weight decrease of roughly 1,000 pounds. In turn, Blue Bird increased the seating capability of its brand-new Vision electrical bus to 77 guests, up from 72 guests.
In addition, the innovative Vision electrical school bus carries out even much better in winter environments than its predecessor. An enhanced engineering style and internally insulated batteries restrict the heat loss in the vehicle’s next-generation energy storage system. Furthermore, a brand-new optional fuel-fired heater produces more than 20% more cabin heat than the existing option.
Blue Bird will continue to build its next-generation electrical school buses at its production center in Fort Valley, Ga. The business just recently commemorated the grand opening of its EV Build-up Center, which will allow Blue Bird to increase its long-lasting production capability to 5,000 electrical school buses a year. Accelera will provide the electrical powertrain for Blue Bird’s brand-new Vision electrical school bus. Blue Bird and Cummins have actually worked together on technology development for years and continue to serve school districts across the country.
