No. 447: Charging a hybrid bus at a bus stop by a feed under ground (February 25, 2012)

Technology

Hino Motors will commercialize the hybrid bus that charges using a feed buried in the ground of a bus stop next year at the earliest. The bus can charge every time it stops at a bus stop, and it can be like an electric bus. The hybrid bus that the company plans to introduce has both an electric motor and a diesel engine. Unlike the conventional hybrid bus that charges using the power generated when the brake is applied, Hino’s hybrid bus charges by dint of electromagnetic induction that generates electric current by changing the magnetic energy between the power receiving unit installed under the bud floor and feed buried in a bus stop. The generated electricity is stored in the lithium-ion battery installed on the roof of the bus. In an emergency, the hybrid bus can supply power to outside.  

Hino has been working on substantiative experiments with National Traffic Safety and Environment Laboratory since 2002. Because the two organizations confirmed that the charging performance is now enough for commercialization, Hino is preparing to market the hybrid bus as a route bus of a local government. It is negotiating with local governments including Tokyo on how to construct the infrastructure. The price of the hybrid bus is not yet decided. Hino introduced a hybrid bus in 1991 for the first time in the world and sold about 900 hybrid buses and 8,500 hybrid commercial vehicles to date.