A Comparative Evaluation of Mobile Charging Pods for Electric Bus Operations
As cities move toward fully electric public transport, one major challenge remains: charging infrastructure is expensive, inflexible, and often requires oversized batteries on buses. The study explores Mobile Autonomous Charging Pods (MAPs), which are mobile, intelligent charging units that bring energy to the buses, instead of forcing buses to go to fixed chargers.
🔍 What this work explores
We evaluate three charging strategies for Stockholm’s high-frequency urban bus lines:
Depot-only charging
Depot + end-station charging
Depot charging + MAP-based dynamic charging
💡 Key insights
1- MAPs reduce total battery capacity by up to 67% compared to depot-only charging
2- Up to 11 million USD in total cost-of-ownership savings over 11 years
3- Minimal grid upgrades needed, unlike costly stationary fast chargers
4- Significant operational flexibility through dynamic, on-the-go charging
5- More resilient to failures thanks to decentralized energy delivery
Potential to use second-life batteries, improving sustainability
🏁 Why this matters
This work demonstrates that dynamic, mobile charging can complement traditional depot infrastructure by enabling scalable, cost-effective, and more robust electric bus networks. MAPs offer a pathway toward sustainable mobility without the heavy reliance on massive batteries or expensive urban grid reinforcements.
Open access at - A comparative evaluation of mobile charging pods for electric bus operations - ScienceDirect