A Study of driving range estimation for city electric buses based on Taiwan EV Pilot Run Project

The driving range is an important issue of electric car manufacturers and electric vehicle fleet operators, and it directly influences the cost, operation and customer satisfaction. The estimation of Battery performance which has a significant impact on the driving range is an immature technique, however ARTC (Automotive Research & Testing Center) proposed to estimate parameters including energy consumption and battery aging. ARTC estimates the driving range by referring the following parameters like the speed, the times of start and stop, and the temperature. Battery capacity is another impact factor, and it will diminish when battery aging and degradation. However, the decreasing capacity has the enormous implications of the range. ARTC presents the down trend of the battery capacity by the EV’s driving data statistics, and then the capacity will be predicted from the trend. The bus is characterized by specific time, position, path and driver, and it’s suitable to electrification of bus systems. This paper is focused on estimating the energy consumption of electric bus. The driving range can be estimated by the speed, the times of start and stop, the temperature, and battery capacity, and it will be more accurate. Furthermore, this paper will present the trend of the battery aging by the charging capacity of battery. The research will help to improve the vehicle’s design, and then support the expansion of electric vehicles.