Batteries of BYD e-bus fleet in the Netherlands to be quality assessed before transfer to new PTO (by volytica diagnostics and TÜV)

German technology company volytica diagnostics and TÜV Nord Mobility are supporting the reselling transaction of 259 BYD used electric buses in the Province of Overijssel, Netherlands. The two companies will carry on a battery quality assessment on the vehicles. The concession was awarded earlier this year to EBS.

EBS will start in IJssel-Vecht in December 2022. Keolis is currently operating an emergency concession after the provinces withdrew the concession from the company following ‘rigged’ orders for 259 BYD buses (from those buses, by the way, some issues rose).

Only an independent battery quality assessment will lead to fair and transparent market prices, as battery assessment is a surprisingly complex and multileveled endeavor. Moreover, we see that by continuously monitoring this component, huge lifetime extension potentials can be raised, system reliability and safety increased and insurance and financing costs decreased. More economical batteries will boost the mobility transition – and save precious resources alongside.

Claudius Jehle, CEO of volytica diagnostics

Battery quality assessment for BYD e-buses

Volytica diagnostics has over 10 years of experience with real life battery applications. The company has the goal of making battery diagnostics a commodity by developing Easy battery diagnostics software for the analysis of battery field data. TÜV Nord Mobility is one of Europe’s leading technical inspection companies with a dedicated branch for commercial vehicle assessment.

In the course of a restructuring of the public transport services, the BYD-build battery-powered vehicles, including the charging infrastructure, will be taken over by the new operator. With up to 50% of the value of an electric bus, the battery is the most expensive single wearing component, where quality and safety are critical. While the condition of combustion engine vehicles can be assessed more easily, access to accurate information about an electric vehicle’s propulsion system is still severely limited without proper analysis and diagnosis solutions, such as the ones offered by volytica in connection with TÜV Nord.

Volytica diagnostics with TÜV Nord Mobility

In the transaction, the parties assess the assets for a quality, safety and value determination of the whole vehicle including charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on the battery. In the long-term, the collaboration is intended to facilitate more of such transaction, which are anticipated to shoot up in the coming months and years, as whole fleets are being traded or coming to the end of their first usage period, volytica diagnostics highlights.

“As an established independent inspection company, it is our aspiration to facilitate a green and sustainable energy and mobility transition – our experts are looking back on decades of assessment competences, and even the most complex and challenging tasks are just right for us. To meet market demands, we strengthen our cooperation with volytica and their intelligent battery diagnostics software, which complements our ability to offer our services in the electric vehicle sector,“ says Krzysztof Sitko, Head of Bus Business Development at TÜV Nord.

“We anticipated a wave of such reselling transactions almost a decade ago, when we were monitoring the first electric buses in Europe. It is proven today that only an independent battery quality assessment will lead to fair and transparent market prices, as battery assessment is a surprisingly complex and multileveled endeavor. Moreover, we see that by continuously monitoring this component, huge lifetime extension potentials can be raised, system reliability and safety increased and insurance and financing costs decreased. More economical batteries will boost the mobility transition – and save precious resources alongside,” says Claudius Jehle, CEO of volytica diagnostics (who, by the way, is the author of knowledge articles on battery-related topics for Sustainable Bus).