70 Li-ion Electric Buses into Service in China

23 February 2009

Xinhua. Seventy lithium-ion iron phosphate powered electric buses with a range of 300 km (186 miles) will go into service in June in China’s Jilin Province.

The government of Liaoyuan was buying 20 of the 24-seat buses and the Changchun city government had ordered 50. The 24-seat buses are being made jointly by the Tongkun New Energy Technologies Co., Ltd and FAW Bus and Coach Company and will run on the roads in the provincial capital of Changchun City, and Liaoyuan, about 200 km to the south of Changchun, as of June.

Xie Haiming, a researcher with the Lithium-ion Battery Material S&T Innovation Center of Jilin Province said the battery packs on the new bus can be recharged up to 2,000 times for just 20 minutes each time.