Hi-Tech batteries make of the trolleybus a new player in solving mega-city-centres' pollution problems

摘要

According to the statistics, today the majority of passengers travel by combustion engine vehicles all over the world and only 1 % of them can use electric transport facilities with low emission. In spite of the high air pollution, this rate is more favourable in case of cities, but it does not influence the fact that basically combustion-engine vehicles are still applied in public transport, as well, because of their low investment cost and developed infrastructure. After a period of recession in the second half of the 20th century, the electric vehicles play again an increasingly important role in the city public transport. Several factors contribute to this progress, like: air pollution problems in the metropolitan areas, the expectable drastic increase in the price of oil-based fuels and the improvement in the flexibility. The feeding lines limit the route of the rubber-wheeled electric vehicles, but the application of high capacity energy storage devices on the board can allow a significant freedom and similar flexibility like the diesel buses have but with zero emission. The newly developed batteries are produced with lower size and weight, as well as, higher capacity that can provide long distance autonomous operation in city public transport. The paper presents the new generation of trolleybuses with onboard battery developed by GTTE.