Case Study on the Impact of the Road Gradient, Passenger Loading and Recuperation Power Limitations on the Energy Consumption of Battery Electric Buses

Battery electric buses (BEBs) are gaining prominence in public transportation systems. In this paper, we investigate the impact of road grade, passenger load, and recuperation power limits on the energy consumption of BEBs using a physics-based model with tuned parameters. The model was employed to conduct a sensitivity analysis taking into account different altitude data sources, passenger load assumptions, and maximum recuperation power limits. The results highlight the importance of considering the route topology and its interaction with dynamic passenger loading for energy consumption predictions. Furthermore, the results indicate that various altitude data sources are feasible to estimate the road grade for this purpose. Apart from that, the sensitivity for recuperation power limitations is shown and put into context. Within a broader framework, the findings suggest that physics-based energy consumption models with optimised parameters can serve as a powerful tool for enhanced operations and planning of BEBs.