Battery duty profile of a heavy-duty trolleybus

Abstract

In our effort to assess battery usage in transportation applications, we analyzed the anticipated battery duty profile of traction batteries in the context of an urban heavy-duty passenger trolleybus. Propulsion-wise, trolleybuses rely on grid-provided electrical power as well as an onboard high power diesel generator for out-of-trolley-network operation. Hence, to date, onboard electrical energy storage systems (ESS) are rare. However, upcoming projects plan on using ESS for short-to-medium range operation whenever the grid power is unavailable. Real-world data have been collected in the city of Lyon, France and processed using our exploratory multivariate data analysis method. Typical duty pulses have been derived and thus, the ESS's duty profile can be anticipated for reliability and lifespan predictions.