5 New Tech Offerings for Alt-Fuel School Bus Fleets
As pressures mount to convert to alternatively-fueled buses, companies are developing new technologies to track emissions and other
key vehicle data.
Sadiah Thompson・Assistant Editor
October 11, 2021
Photo courtesy AMPLY Power
4 min to read
Today’s school bus fleet managers expect the best in alternative fueling equipment and technology, and with President Biden’s push for all zero-emission buses by 2030, those expectations are only increasing.
To help with the transition to alt-fuel fleets, several companies are developing new technologies designed to measure, reduce, and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, provide real-time fleet data, and create detailed fueling reports. Check out some of those offerings below.
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Charge Management Software to Offer Real-Time Emissions Data
AMPLY Power is tapping environmental technology nonprofit WattTime to provide its electric vehicle, bus, and truck customers with access to emission reductions data and the ability to automatically charge when GHG emissions from electricity generating plants are low. The integration will incorporate the decarbonization goals of each individual fleet, manage charging to meet those mandates, and enable fleets to calculate and report their Scope 2, or indirect, GHG inventories. It will be a standard feature in AMPLY’s OMEGA platform and be available by the end of 2021.
AMPLY’s OMEGA platform is customized for every fleet customer, ensuring the automatic charging of vehicles based on the customer’s goals, cost of electricity, vehicle shifts, routes, battery health, and other factors. AMPLY will integrate WattTime’s Automated Emission Reduction (AER) technology via an API with AMPLY’s OMEGA software. With the integration, fleets can access real-time and location-specific data for the grid nationwide. Emissions data is updated every five minutes, and historical data in rolling 24-hour increments will be integrated into the OMEGA platform for a more holistic view of a fleet’s decarbonization efforts.
LionBeat, developed by The Lion Electric Co. (Lion) and fleet management solutions provider Geotab, offers a robust and flexible telematics suite intended to optimize all aspects of electric school bus fleet operations.
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Built on top of Geotab’s open platform fleet management solution, the LionBeat system seeks to help reduce total cost of ownership for fleet operators while maximizing their return on investment. Geotab’s technology is designed to fit the demands of fleet operators of any size, including mixed and 100% zero-emission fleets, and provides intuitive, full-featured solutions that help operators better manage drivers and vehicles by extracting accurate real-time and historical data. This gives operators greater insight into fleet safety, productivity, fleet optimization, regulatory compliance, and sustainability.
The LionBeat system is installed on every Lion zero-emission school bus, making the vehicles instantly telematics-compatible. This gives the end user the ability to leverage data to help drive business and fleet management decisions — ultimately increasing uptime, reducing operating costs, and optimizing EV routes.
Photo courtesy Cox Automotive and Spiers New Technologies
Diagnostic Tool to Enhance EV Battery Lifecycle
The new independent, third-party battery health diagnostic tool built by Spiers New Technologies (SNT) and Cox Automotive Mobility is powered by SNT’s ALFRED battery decisioning platform. This battery health diagnostic tool is becoming the industry standard for OEMs, dealers, and fleet providers to assess the condition and value of EV batteries. With ALFRED and the health score, Cox Automotive will help drive greater transparency and confidence in EV transactions with consumers.
Solution Offers Optimized Charging, Energy Management
The Mobility House’s charging and energy management solution ChargePilot allows system operators to optimize charging for electric vehicle fleets of any size to ensure all vehicles remain readily available for scheduled routes. Since, in most cases, not all vehicles require charging at full power simultaneously, The Mobility House says it’s smarter to charge at a reduced load or to schedule a charging time.
The ChargePilot system prevents expensive load peaks and reduces a fleet’s charging costs by 50% on average, according to the company. With an integrated user portal, fleet managers can manage charging events and costs in real time. The system is also compatible with charging stations and individual electric vehicles and can be applied flexibly as a fleet grows.
ChargePilot is currently deployed at over 500 sites around the globe.
Dispensing Systems, Management Software for Propane Fleets
In 2020, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) mandated that all propane vehicles, including school buses, use the K-15 adapter for fueling. The K-15 features a quick-connect design that can dramatically reduce fugitive emissions, which causes gases or vapors that are released due to leaks, during the propane refueling process.
According to Crystelle Markley, marketing director for Superior Energy Systems, fleets that have implemented Superior Energy’s K-15 nozzle have seen an increase in safety, performance, and ease of use — as the nozzle only requires monthly spray lubrication.
Markeley adds that the new onboard diagnostics offer enhanced service capability and increased reliability with Superior Energy Systems’ own, in-house software. Housed on the cloud, the software grants users access to data such as driver and vehicle identification, mileage, and gallons pumped at any time. Users can create customized reports without the need to install separate technology, and the dispenser software can be updated remotely, removing the need for multiple site visits. A list of fueling tickets is also available in real time. By clicking on any ticket, users can access additional information, including employee name, vehicle, start and end time, odometer reading, and how many gallons pumped.
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