Diesel-electric buses to be emission free

25 June 2012 - Viet Nam will soon get new diesel-electric hybrid buses following the signing of an agreement in Ha Noi between Siemens Viet Nam and the Viet Nam Motors Industry Corporation - Vinamotor.

“State-of-the-art and environment friendly technology will help improve the quality of our buses as well as help us manufacture buses that are safe, environmentally friendly, energy efficient and clean,” Vinamotor chairman Do Nga Viet said at the signing ceremony.

A prototype of the new bus will be built this year. It is expected to reduce fuel consumption by up to 50 per cent, thus significantly saving costs, as well as reducing the impact on the environment through much lower exhaust emission.

The technology, called ELFA, is a diesel-electric hybrid concept that combines mobile power supply modules, such as diesel generator sets and energy-storage devices, allowing the energy produced during braking to be stored, whereas in conventional city buses, braking energy is converted into heat and lost.

ELFA technology converts this energy into electrical energy fed into energy storage devices like high-performance capacitors and batteries. The stored energy then is reused during start and acceleration.

Depending on the storage capacity of the system, the bus can also be driven purely electrically, without emissions, especially in inner city areas. A smart move for Viet Nam's pollution-choked commuters!