ZEEbus officially launched the repowering operation on 23rd May 2023, demonstrating the proof of concept Volvo B5LH EV conversion. The event at ZEEBus HQ in Little Staughton was attended by representative of most UK main bus operators, the feedback was overwhelmingly good and showed the market opportunity for EV repowering.

ZEEbus is a contraction of Zero Emission Electric bus and is a new company led by industry-leading experts with decades of experience in manufacturing and professional vehicle conversions. It leverages the automotive development and BEV powertrain knowhow of Ralph Hosier Engineering Ltd with the industry recognised bus re-powering capabilities of Gordon Mockett’s company Loansdean Hill Ltd.
Working together as ZEEbus, the company has produced a modular, scalable conversion that re-powers diesel buses with the latest, cleanest and most efficient BEV technology.

Research has identified the vital need to re-power existing diesel buses. Of the 40,000 PSVs already in use in the UK, only 8,000 meet zero emission criteria. Yet between now and the government’s zero emission deadline of 2035, there is only sufficient supply chain capability to produce another 10,000 BEV buses.
This leaves a shortfall of some 20,000 electric PSVs to simply maintain the current level of service – a chasm that can be bridged by retrofitting existing buses with BEV conversions.
Keeping a bus on the road by converting it from diesel to electric uses less resources than building an electric bus from scratch. Each conversion takes around two weeks to complete from start to finish, and costs less than half the price of a new BEV bus!

The ZEEbus conversion is based around a robust modular architecture that is designed to occupy the space vacated by the old internal combustion engine and fuel system. The drivetrain components are well-proven and manufactured by established industry suppliers, while the battery packs are built to the company’s own design and scalable to suit the range and route requirements of each application.

The flexible nature of this architecture allows for the incorporation of next-generation battery cell technology to future-proof the solution, as well as the integration of green fuel offerings such as hydrogen-powered fuel cells when these become commercially viable.