SAFRA, electric bus manufacturer at the Busworld exhibition in Brussels
SAFRA is taking part in the largest public transport event in Europe: the Busworld trade fair, which is taking place this year in Brussels from 18 to 23 October. As a French manufacturer of electric buses, SAFRA will be presenting its energy package, the centrepiece of the powertrain of its Businova Hydrogen. Hydrogen will also be the theme of the SAFRA Constructor stand, which brings 2 players from the French hydrogen industry, the McPhy company, and the SEM Eveer’Hy’Pôle, and hosts the French hydrogen industry on Tuesday 22 October for a press conference.
Ramp-up for Businova
Businova news is an important order book, mostly focused on hydrogen, with today nearly 80% of requests. Indeed, since its first market won in 2018, with the Artois-Gohelle agglomeration, for the supply of 6 hydrogen buses, the company is particularly solicited for hydrogen bus supply markets.
Currently, SAFRA Constructeur is finalizing the delivery of the 6 Businova H2 for the Artois-Gohelle agglomeration, and is manufacturing the 5 hydrogen vehicles for BE Green that will circulate on the KEOLIS Versailles network. Le Mans has also ordered an H2 vehicle, and the company Hyport in Occitania has just ordered 5. The company is responding to many projects and should soon win its first international market. Other orders are also made for plug-in hybrid electric Businova, in diesel version for Albi, as well as in gas version for Grenoble.
A new Businova in the range
Based on the plug-in hybrid electric Businova with diesel range extender, SAFRA has recently developed a gas-powered version, allowing it to respond to numerous customer requests. Many cities made the choice a few years ago to invest in gas infrastructure to power their bus fleets.
The Businova gas hybrid makes it possible to drive in very low emission mode, or 250 km of range per day, but above all it is the only one capable of driving in zero emission mode on a given route, since its extender can be stopped on demand to use only its electric propulsion (100 km in zero emission). With this unique system, the Businova Plug-in Hybrid ranks in Group 1 of clean vehicles related to the Energy Transition Law.
TRANSDEV has chosen this vehicle for a first prototype for the SMTC network in the Grenoble metropolitan area, operated by SEMITAG. The official signing of this market took place on Tuesday 1st October at 13:30 on the SAFRA stand during the National Public Transport Meetings in Nantes. At the end of the testing of this prototype on the Grenoble network, an additional order should follow.
Certified Businova hydrogen
2019 for SAFRA Constructor, the pace of production has increased. This year, SAFRA has chosen to focus on its customer deliveries and to show only its energy pack, a true technical innovation of the Businova in which the hydrogen fuel cell is located. The opportunity to expose its unique propulsion system, and its exceptionally innovative architecture.
The hydrogen Businova, based on the original electrical architecture developed by SAFRA, integrates its engine and energy system into a separate chassis at the rear of the vehicle. Inside this «energy pack», is the hydrogen range extender, a 30 kW fuel cell supplied by Symbio/Michelin, which supplies a 132 kWh battery supplied by SAFRA. This battery pack is identical on the entire Businova electric range. Thanks to the 32 kg of hydrogen on the roof in specific tanks compressing the gas to 350 bar, the Businova hydrogen offers a minimum range of 350 km per recharge.
The innovative architecture of the Businova allowed the hydrogen version to be developed in a very short time, with an official approval of the vehicle granted in early October of this year.
SAFRA, a player in the hydrogen sector in France
As a pilot of the hydrogen bus project in France, following the signing of the Commitment for Green Growth (ECV) in May, SAFRA therefore brought together a number of stakeholders in the hydrogen sector at its stand. McPhy, a specialist in production and distribution equipment for low-carbon hydrogen, and SEM Eveer’Hy’Pôle, a testing centre for hydrogen vehicles and equipment). SAFRA, as a Hydrogen Mobility France member and pilot of the Bus H2 activity as part of the Commitment to Green Growth (ECV), will host a press conference organized by Hydrogen Mobility France on Tuesday 22 October (time to be confirmed) for the announcement of the publication of its white paper.
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