Forsee Power Will Equip the First Public Order for a Retrofitted Coach in France
Forsee Power, the expert in smart battery systems for sustainable electromobility, announces that it will supply the battery system for the first public school bus order converted into an electric vehicle by Greenmot for Métropole of Rouen Normandie in France. The metropolis must convert 49 vehicles.
An Unprecedented Call for Tenders Launched by Métropole Rouen Normandie and Won by the Greenmot, Forsee Power, SPL and Comeca Consortium
France operates 69,000 coaches. Half of this fleet is more than 5 years old and is therefore eligible for retrofit, since the entry into force of a decree in March 2020 which authorizes the conversion of vehicles without the prior agreement of the original manufacturers. This is a huge opportunity to reduce transport-related CO2 emissions and maximize the economic value of vehicles. Indeed, after 10 years of service, school buses generally reach 200,000 kilometers whereas they are designed to travel 1 million.
Métropole Rouen Normandie is the first community to launch a call for tenders to transform its diesel coaches into electric coaches. To achieve this, it chose the turnkey solution with the Greenmot retrofit kit, Forsee Power batteries and the charging infrastructure provided by Comeca. Greenmot is the French specialist in the conversion of thermal industrial vehicles into electric vehicles; its retrofit kit makes it possible to electrify vehicles at the cost of a second-hand vehicle.
The 49 converted Iveco Crossway vehicles will run on ‘Astuce’ school route network. After the delivery of a first test vehicle at the end of 2023, the converted school buses will be integrated into the network until 2025.
Vehicle’s Retrofit, an Additional Business Development Lever for Forsee Power
The battery system is the main element of the retrofit kit. Forsee Power has already equipped more than 1,600 electric buses around the world, mainly in Europe, and has a very complete range of batteries to enable overnight charging, fast charging or even hydrogen/ fuel cell-powered solutions. With complementary and ultra-modular formats, Forsee Power has all the technical solutions to transform diesel or gas vehicles into 100% battery or hydrogen electric vehicles.
As part of the school buses for the Rouen Normandie Metropolis, Forsee Power will supply Greenmot with battery systems from its ZEN SLIM range made up of 11, 16 and 21 kWh modules, for perfect integration into vehicle chassis, thus optimizing passengers’ space.
Sébastien Rembauville-Nicolle, Vice-President Business Development at Forsee Power, explains:This first school bus retrofit project is an important step in the development of zero-emission collective and public transport. Our ultra-flat ZEN SLIM battery systems are an ideal solution for this type of passenger transport application. Over the past 12 months, retrofitting has become an essential solution for decarbonizing transport, to accelerate the energy transition while optimizing operators’ investments. We are currently working on numerous retrofit projects for trucks and other industrial vehicles, all over the world.
This article was originally published by Forsee Power.
