“Dnipro Electric Transport equipped the trolleybus with powerful batteries using its own resources
photo: Dnipro City Council
In Dnipro, one of the existing trolleybuses was modernized to operate on city routes. Engineers and craftsmen of the Dnipro Electric Transport utility installed electrical and electronic equipment for overhead transportation for a distance of up to 20 kilometers. This was reported by the Dnipro City Council.
According to Serhiy Guzhva from the car repair shop of Dnipro Electric Transport the shop's specialists have been working on modernizing the trolleybus and installing additional batteries based on lithium-iron-phosphate for three months. According to the utility's representatives, the benefits of this material include an extended battery life cycle.
The Dnipro carrier already has successful experience in operating autonomously powered trolleybuses. Currently, 14 units of the Dnipro-T203 model are in operation, which can travel up to 20 km without recharging, and another 33 trolleybuses can travel up to 3 km without a contact network.
A trolleybus on a route in Dnipro. Photo: Alltransua portal (user d_pr)
Battery-powered trolleybuses with a range of 15 kilometers or more are an efficient and sustainable form of ground transportation for Ukrainian cities. They make systems more resilient to power outages and restrictions, enabling them to complete a trip - taking passengers to their destinations and returning the vehicles to the depot. Also, such trolleybuses allow for on-street service and avoid the need for significant investment in street construction. The replacement of diesel buses with such hybrid electric buses (also known as “battery trolleybuses” or “autonomous trolleybuses”) leads to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions.
Battery trolleybuses are considered an advanced type of rolling stock not only in Ukraine but also in the EU, as evidenced by a promotional article from Slovakia entitled “Trolleybus is the best electric bus!”. The German city of Solingen is successfully implementing a strategy of complete transition to battery trolleybuses with a gradual abandonment of diesel ones. In Ukraine, in addition to Dnipro, Kremenchuk is actively using battery trolleybuses, and Chernihiv is starting to introduce them.