Alstom has selected the French battery manufacturer Forsee Power to equip the Aptis electric buses, scheduled for series delivery from 2019 onwards. The vehicles will be equipped with NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide) Li-ion battery technology as a standard feature.
Forsee Power has been chosen for its advanced technology in terms of yield and density, its competitiveness and its ability to provide a recyclable product, from collection to the re-use of cells. Alstom is thus betting on a reliable solution and close partnership with a flagship of French technology.
Alstom and Forsee Power have worked together to define the most suitable product for Aptis, while retaining the vehicle’s openness to different battery technologies and charging speeds. The vehicle’s design, with most of its equipment on the roof, coupled with the modularity of the ZEN35 battery packs, give Aptis the greatest range flexibility when compared to other vehicles in its category. Alstom has developed precise simulation tools to establish the onboard energy required by operators and thus design the vehicle most suited to the requirements of each line (with range per charge from 150km to over 250km).
Alstom and Forsee Power are also collaborating on the best way to monitor battery use in real time, thereby optimizing usage cycles and thus battery life expectancy.
Finally, Alstom has developed long-term battery leasing solutions that allow municipalities to reduce the financial impact of purchasing electric buses by spreading the cost of the batteries over the lifespan of the vehicle.
Seven of Alstom’s sites in France are involved in the design and manufacture of Aptis: Duppigheim for the overall engineering, bodywork, testing and certification, Saint-Ouen for the system integration, Tarbes for the traction, Ornans for the engines, Villeurbanne for the electronic components of the traction chain and Reichshoffen for the manufacture of the central passenger module, final assembly and in-series tests. Finally, the Alstom site of Vitrolles is responsible for developing one of the charging solutions (SRS).
