
SOLUTRANS is the biennial trade fair for haulage and urban transport professionals, and will be held this year from the 16th to the 20th of November at Lyon, Eurexpo. On this occasion, we will present ECOl'car, the FIRST RETROFITTED COACH FROM DIESEL TO BIONGV in collaboration with the transport operator Berthelet and with the support of IVECO BUS, in the Hall 1 at stand C 031.
ECOl'car project consists on the transformation (retrofit) of Euro V diesel school coaches to natural gas Euro VI ones, replacing the diesel engine by the CNG equivalent. Developed by CRMT, near from Lyon, this solution enhances circular economy and meets multiple sustainable development challenges such as:
- Extending the useful life of the vehicle,
- Reusing rather than replacing and thus limiting the consumption of resources,
- Drastically reducing pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions
- Allowing coaches to continue to operate in Low Emissions Zones (LEZ).
A promising solution supported by many private and public actors
After several phases of study and validation, the final adjustments have been made and the coach is now 100% operational. It will be available on the external exhibition area of SOLUTRANS, for you to discover it and chat with our experts who will be pleased to answer to your questions.
This project was possible thanks to various technical supports, in particular from IVECO Bus, who facilitated the access to the necessary information for the development of the BioNGV retrofit solution, but also by ensuring its compliance with the brand's processes. Support also came from VOITH Turbo, who proposed a technical upgrade of the DIWA automatic gearbox, covering the mechanical part and the control software.
The project also received financial support from TotalEnergies, to promote BioNGV retrofit as a mean to deploy clean fuels, as well as from ADEME to support innovation and accelerate the energy transition.
The transport operator Berthelet, will operate the first ECOl’car on school lines, and will document its feedback during 2022.
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