Enel X Awarded Grants for Future Electrification of Bus Fleets

Enel X has been awarded two grants by the Accelerating Clean Transportation Now (ACTNow) program through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC).

Enel X, the Enel Group’s advanced energy services business line, has announced it has been awarded two grants by the Accelerating Clean Transportation Now (ACTNow) program through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The grants will support the development of public transportation electrification in the Commonwealth and coincide with the company’s entrance into public transit electrification in the US with the launch of a portfolio of turnkey services, including e-bus infrastructure planning, procurement, energy supply and management, and software.

With the grants, Enel X will help develop an innovative approach to public transit fleet electrification planning, which will provide the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) insights to optimally electrify a portion of their new fleet and will support the electrification of a portion of Hopkinton Public School District’s bus fleet.

“Enel X continues to be a leader in the electrification of transportation in the US, supporting utilities, businesses and consumers on their path towards zero-emissions driving through our unmatched combination of industry expertise, software, and hardware. Today marks an important step forward in the expansion of our business to bring that same level of expertise and infrastructure to public mass transportation systems,” said Surya Panditi, Head of Enel X North America.

“Massachusetts remains at the forefront of the energy transition, and we look forward to progressing each of these projects to deliver turn-key zero-emissions transportation solutions that meet sustainability goals and add economic value.”

The firm will work with Microgrid Labs, Inc. (MGL), provider of EV modeling and optimization software, and the MBTA during the planning and development of a new bus depot to be located in Quincy, Mass. that will be capable of housing a fully electric fleet of 120 buses and charging infrastructure, as part of the MBTA’s broader plans to design facilities to serve a zero-emissions e-bus fleet.

The two firms will also provide an innovative electrification planning and analysis solution that will help inform the MBTA’s electrification strategy and has the potential to be applied in other markets. The analysis will include insights regarding the optimal sizing of vehicle powertrain, battery, charging infrastructure, energy infrastructure including microgrids, as well as the development of an optimal charging strategy.

In addition, Enel X, through its energy advisory services team, will develop an energy supply management strategy to maximise the financial benefits of the system, including evaluation of on-site distributed energy resources (DERs) like battery storage and the potential to earn revenue from enrolling the electric fleet and DERs in local managed charging and demand response programs.