First NSW-made electric bus joins state’s growing zero-emissions fleet

The New South Wales government has launched the latest electric bus in the state’s transition to a zero emissions bus fleet by 2030, and the first e-bus to have been made in NSW, for trial in the Sydney suburb of Bondi.

The NSW Liberal government’s minister for transport Andrew Constance announced the launch of the new home-grown e-bus on Twitter on Friday, inviting commuters to “jump on board” for a free trial of the pollution-free and relatively noise-free service.

“Clean, green, Aussie-made… and now on our streets!,” Constance said in a Tweet. “The very first NSW-made electric bus is now on trial in Bondi …  A great outcome for our state and another step closer to an emissions-free future.”

The new e-bus, pictured above and in the Tweet below, was made by Custom Denning, which has operations in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and was one of a number of bus companies enlisted to help meet the NSW government’s zero-emissions transport target.

According to the company’s website, Custom Denning started its “zero-emission journey” in 2019, designing and successfully manufacturing four Australian Made, (BEV) Battery Electric Vehicles, with one (FCEV) Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle due for completion early 2021.

Custom Denning says the Element battery electric bus features lithium metal polymer (LMP) solid state batteries that don’t contain any solvents, cobalt or nickel, and don’t require a cooling system in order to operate sufficiently.

“This is a bus designed and manufactured right here, with local roads, conditions and applications in mind! A premium Australian product suitable for the local market and furthermore a potential Australian export,” the website says.

The Berejiklian government’s plan to transition the state’s 8,000 bus fleet to zero emissions vehicles was detailed in December of last year, with an initial goal of rolling out 120 electric buses in 2021.

The 120 electric buses are being supplied by Truegreen’s Nexport from a number of bus makers including BCI, Yutong, Nexport BYD Gemilang and Nexport BYD Volgren.

The first 50 electric buses will service Sydney routes in the inner west, south west and north. Another 70 are also on order from Truegreen’s Nexport, which is setting up a manufacturing facility in the southern Highlands, but are yet to be allocated to services, according to Nexport.