Bus to Run on Commercial Zinc

Arotech Corp.’s electric vehicle unit is developing technology that allows its zinc-air batteries to use commercially available zinc, eliminating the need for special dendritic zinc. The technological breakthrough will boost commercialization plans for the zinc-air hybrid bus.

Eliminating costly infrastructure will allow transit bus operators to achieve reasonable economies for even small or medium fleets. The new technology will enable small-scale tests, which otherwise would have required a significant investment in zinc regeneration infrastructure. Zinc suppliers and recyclers will be able to supply zinc fuel using existing commercial production technology and capacity – removing a major market entry barrier.

This breakthrough is a result of optimizing the hybrid bus propulsion system during the first three phases of an FTA-funded development and demonstration program. A prototype bus using Electric Fuel’s refuelable zinc-air batteries and a hybrid electric drive system attained an inner-city driving range of up to 145 miles on a single charge – enough for a full day of transit service.

As the new technology has been proven in laboratory testing, Electric Fuel plans to conduct field tests of the alternative commercial zinc during an upcoming performance test of the zinc-air all-electrical bus.