More and more companies are recognizing the potential of real-time data analytics in electric vehicle fleet management. TWAICE and ViriCiti are now publishing a white paper on the findings of their joint software solution in determining battery health, vehicle battery life, and significantly reducing the cost of e-bus fleets.
ViriCiti, recently part of ChargePoint, is a Dutch pioneer in the field of e-bus fleet management with a data-driven approach and is cooperating with TWAICE on battery analytics. The result of this intensive collaboration is a Battery Health Package that provides advanced battery maintenance and forecasting indicators via an intuitive dashboard. However, the tool not only facilitates the analysis of all battery models, but also helps to keep them “healthy”. This means that e-fleet operators can precisely determine and improve the condition and lifetime of their batteries. A white paper now reveals all the findings from practical experience.
Longer service life, lower costs
The seamless integration of ViriCiti’s Battery Health Package and TWAICE provides information on the SoH (State of Health) of each vehicle at any time, without affecting ongoing operations. The integration provides comprehensive and reliable insight into the state of a battery. For both small and large fleets, significant time, cost and labor savings can be achieved, far exceeding what was possible with previous solutions, namely over 20,000 euros. ViriCiti and TWAICE have been working closely with the operator of an e-bus fleet over the past few months to achieve this. The knowledge gained from these studies is elementary when it comes to questions of strategic fleet renewal, maintenance or warranty. This allows data-driven decision-making processes to be integrated into the management of e-bus fleet operations from the outset.
Among other things, the study found that high costs are imposed on bus operators and manufacturers when they use conventional methods. In addition, the results showed which of the e-buses examined were still above the end-of-life criterion in terms of warranty coverage. Therefore, Alexander Schabert, Senior Director Global Bus Sales at ViriCiti, concludes: “The Battery Health Package holds high savings potentials, after all, power storage accounts for up to 50% of the costs of an electric vehicle. We provide precise condition determination and prediction of the remaining life of batteries, which can even be significantly increased thanks to the solution.”
Guaranteed planning reliability
Instead of having to test each vehicle’s battery individually, the Battery Health Package enables fleet-wide analysis that replaces mere estimates with real facts. “Like all vehicles, batteries are subjected to different levels of stress, and with our AI-supported solution, lengthy physical tests are a thing of the past. Our customers receive detailed evaluations at the push of a button and thus real planning security, which helps them optimize the entire value chain. But it’s not just financial benefits that speak in favor of implementing our system, because the seamless analysis of the batteries guarantees smooth operation, and that in turn ensures more satisfied passengers and better customer ratings,” says Dr. Michael Baumann, co-CEO of TWAICE.
