HEAT2GO – Low-cost heat “to go”
Emission-free and efficient heating of E-buses
HEAT2GO is a quick-charge enabled modular latent heat storage system for electric city buses. This emission-free and energy efficient heating concept is the newest joint venture development research project of the Fraunhofer Institute for Traffic and Infrastructure Systems and the North Hessian climate specialist Konvekta AG.
After the first successful presentation at the Busworld in Brussels – the world-wide biggest exhibition for city buses and coaches – and the completion of the test series in the Konvekta climate chamber, the system will be installed in a 12m test bus of the Fraunhofer Institute and then start regular route service next year. The tests were very successful and the system performed in mounted state even better than expected. The HEAT2GO-System reached a heating capacity of 20 kW (inside temperature 18° Celsius at a system capacity of 13,5 kWh).
HEAT2GO is suitable for the OppCharger just as it is for a depot charger. With opportunity charging, not only are the batteries of the buses charged at the quick-charge points of the pantographs, but even the latent heat storage system is charged within a few minutes. The thermal energy produced during charging is used, if required, directly for heating the interior cabin without any additional energy from the batteries.
For depot chargers – the system also gets integrated perfectly in modern thermal management concepts, like a Konvekta CO2 heat pump. The HEAT2GO – heat storage system is an optimal supplement in order to intercept temperature peaks.
The battery size is rated according to the energy consumption peaks, which become reduced considerably with the HEAT2GO heat storage. This means that during a bus life cycle one can save up to EUR 18,000 in battery capacity.
