With partners Magtec, Chargemaster and Cambridge University – and part funded by the government's Advanced Propulsion Centre – the bus manufacturer will work on designing an integrated 'power floor' system to power pure electric or range-extended electric vehicles.
"This project brings an interesting new dimension to the development of ULE [ultra-low emission] bus technology and seeks to find responsible solutions to the world's environmental challenges," says Dr William Wright CBE, co-founder and director of Wrights Group.
Cambridge University has an ongoing development relationship with Wrightbus and, says professor John Miles.
"In this concept, we are planning to store the batteries to power the bus in a 'power floor', converting an area that is an integral part of public transport into a place where useful power cells can be placed," stats Miles.
"The challenges are huge, but the potential for air quality improvement is also huge."
The consortium aims to have a production-ready system within three years.