BLEnergy installing power storage system for Haifa's Metronit

BLEnergy, of the Blilious Group, is installing a system that will produce and store energy in the Kiryat Ata depot of the Metronit bus network in Haifa. The system will charge Metronit’s 50 electric articulated buses made by Chinese bus manufacturer Golden Dragon and operated by Superbus in Haifa.

The Metronit is a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) network using articulated buses. The Metronit in Haifa will connect between Krayot, Haifa Bay, Downtown, Hadar and West Haifa. The network has designated lanes, facilitating punctuality, and long and wide high-capacity buses, providing the advantages of a light rail network without the high cost

The project will combine a 2MWh energy storage system with a local photovoltaic system of around 0.5MWh on the roofs of the depot, together with four fast chargers. With the advanced energy storage and management systems that will be maintained by BLEnergy, the electric buses will be charged in the parking lot of the Metronit, from either a clean electric energy source, or the power grid.

The system will give the electric buses greater energy independence since it will allow energy to be stored during hours when the cost of power is low, and for the buses to be charged with dedicated chargers, as needed. In this manner, the costs of operating the Metronit will be reduced, and an additional, continuous source of energy will provide backup in the event of a power outage. The system will incorporate a management and control system to coordinate electricity demand and the available energy sources.

The Ministry of Energy financed the project to the tune of NIS 1 million. Each Metronit bus will have batteries that can store 0.5MWh, and fast, 120-180 kWh chargers that will charge the batteries to maximum capacity within four hours.

In the course of 2022, BLEnergy is scheduled to build and provide storage facilities for numerous different projects with a total size of 250-350 MWh and is competing for other contracts worth hundreds of MWh.

BLEnergy CEO Tal Mund said, "The system that will be supplied to Superbus is the first and only one of its kind in Israel. For the first time, there will be a system that will allow for the storage and production of energy in one place to supply electric articulated buses that require high energy availability. Using the storage systems and management tools, Superbus will be able to provide the riders of public transportation in Haifa and Krayot with a fleet of buses that are based solely on a green energy system, leading to a reduced strain on the current electricity infrastructure."

In 2022, BLEnergy will build a storage facilities in various projects totaling 250-350 MWh, and will compete for additional contracts amounting to hundreds of MWh. BLEnergy collaborates with Superbus and Aiways of the Blilious Group to strengthen synergy between electric vehicles and public transportation.