Akasol, based in Darmstadt, Germany, is now manufacturing lithium-ion battery systems for Daimler subsidiary EvoBus, which plans to launch its new Citaro electric bus at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in September, and begin series manufacturing this year.

Each bus will be fitted with between six and ten of Akasol’s AKASYSTEM OEM battery packs (maximum capacity 243 kWh), some on the roof and some in the rear, in the space that was once used by the diesel engine. The electric Citaro bus will have an operating range of 150 km.

Akasol opened a production plant for commercial vehicle battery systems in Langen, Germany, in 2017. The facility has a yearly capacity of up to 300 MWh, enough to supply up to 1,500 electric buses or up to 6,000 commercial vehicles, depending on battery size. Akasol plans to expand capacity to 600 MWh by 2020.

“We’re working on this together with Akasol’s experts,” said Gustav Tuschen, Head of Product Engineering for Daimler Buses. “Based on the specifications we have developed together, they manufacture battery systems for us with cells from Samsung. The batteries are being tempered at about 25° C. With this we expect maximum charging capacity, performance and lifetime.”

“The key factor for meeting our client’s demands on lifetime is our efficient water cooling,” said Akasol Managing Director Sven Schulz. “Tempering has been shown to work efficiently and reliably both in winter tests in the north of Sweden, where it was incredibly cold, as well as on summer drives in the dry desert heat in southern Spain.”

Source: Akasol