Newmarket Tay Power: Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial

Lead Proponent

Newmarket Tay Power

Project Objectives

The objective of this project is to help move electric buses towards full commercialization in Ontario, by installing and operating an overhead charging station to allow for the displacement of existing diesel buses with electric buses for York Regional Transit.

Transit vehicles as well as diesel buses produce climate-affecting GHGs.  While some transit agencies have experimented with and integrated small fleets of hybrid diesel-electric buses as well as compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in the past, there are currently no zero-emissions buses – i.e. fully battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric buses – on Ontario roads today.

Expected Results

This project is part of a broader first-in-Canada demonstration of the interoperability of different bus models and overhead chargers.  The Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration & Integration Trial will put Canada on the map globally as the first location in the world where standardized, inter-operable overhead charging systems are integrated with competing bus models in situ for fleet purposes.

This project will contribute to Canadian electric vehicle infrastructure codes, standards and regulation development, as well as demonstrate the GHG reduction associated with electric buses, the power requirements for an integrated electric bus charging system, optimal vehicle-to-grid communications to achieve mass (scaled) electrification of buses over five years.  The project will also look at the possible demand management (DM) mechanisms required to peak shave and ensure grid reliability with e-bus integration.