Capstone Receives order for 34 microturbines for Denver RTD electric bus fleet
08 April 2013
Capstone Turbine Corporation has received an order for thirty-four liquid fuel C30 microturbines for use in DesignLine’s Eco Saver IV range extended electric buses. The buses are expected to be delivered to Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) later this year.
The new Denver RTD buses will operate on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. The new buses will replace 36 TransTeq mall buses that were bought in 1999 and are now at the end of their useful life, according to RTD officials.
Two Capstone-equipped DesignLine buses have been in service for more than a year on the mall, and they have better maintenance records than the TransTeq vehicles, according to RTD officials.
The DesignLine range-extended electric buses are 45 feet long, and feature an all-electric drivetrain using Li-ion batteries for energy storage. The batteries are used to power the electric motors, which drive the bus, and all accessories such as air conditioning, power steering and lighting.
The lithium-ion batteries recover kinetic energy from the bus brakes via a regenerative braking system to extend the range. The batteries are recharged by the Capstone 30kW microturbine, running on diesel or biodiesel.
The microturbine recharges the batteries on the fly and shuts down when the batteries reach the desired state of charge. The Capstone microturbine produces extremely low emissions and noise compared to a traditional engine, with no requirements for complex exhaust aftertreatment or additional additives.
Capstone and DesignLine recently executed a new five-year OEM agreement, marking a renewed commitment to the long-standing relationship.
To the BatmoBus Robin !!
Posted by: mahonj | 08 April 2013 at 08:02 AM
"The batteries are recharged by the Capstone 30kW microturbine, running on diesel or biodiesel."
Interesting, 45 foot long bus running on ~40 hp..
Posted by: kelly | 08 April 2013 at 08:23 AM
I suppose city buses that do not go so fast or far, but do a lot of braking and restarting are ideal for an electric drive, and you don't need too much extra energy. You can run the turbine as much as you like (up to 100% of the time anyway (!)).
Low noise, low emissions from the turbine keep it all simple.
Sounds almost too good to be true.
Love to see how it progresses.
Posted by: mahonj | 08 April 2013 at 09:05 AM
I wonder how much each of those 30kw microturbines cost.
Posted by: citizen | 08 April 2013 at 12:24 PM
I wonder how much each of those 30kw microturbines cost.
Posted by: citizen | 08 April 2013 at 12:24 PM
Combine cycle them with a Tesla steam turbine and you might get another 30 kW out of it.
Posted by: SJC | 08 April 2013 at 02:16 PM
Since 30Kw has been proven to run/genset a 45 foot bus around the streets of Denver - slap 10 hp motorcycle gensets(~$2,000) in Leafs NOW and drive cross country.
Posted by: kelly | 08 April 2013 at 03:34 PM
More battery energy and less ICE genset energy would mean more fuel efficient PHEVs?
Not so long ago, many ICEVs used 10 HP to 20 HP?
Posted by: HarveyD | 10 April 2013 at 08:08 AM