On Wednesday 2 June Ebusco-Pondus won the JEC Composites Innovation Award in the category: Automotive & Road Transportation Structural, with the Ebusco 3.0 series urban and district buses. The Innovation Awards are a recognition by the worldwide composites industry of the most innovative composites application. In the past 25 years renowned international companies have received this award for their innovative use of composites. Ebusco is hugely proud to be included on this list.
Innovation is an essential part of this industry. It determines the future of automotive and road transport. Which is why the JEC Composites Innovation Awards are more than just a presentation of awards. They are intended to inspire all participants and the whole sector and to turn the spotlight onto the outstanding work of the winners. Together with EDAG Engineering (FiberEUse project) and Ford Motor Company (Chassis project), Ebusco was in the final, and was eventually declared the winner by the international jury.
Edwin van Herpt, Director of Composites for Ebusco-Pondus: “We are very honoured to have been presented with this award. It is a recognition by the worldwide composites industry for Ebusco’s accomplishment for applying composite for the full body work, marking an important step forward in the transition to sustainable, emission-free and affordable public transport.”
The Ebusco 3.0 bus series breaks through the barriers of traditional bus design, largely through the use of composites. By developing the 3.0 series with experts from the aerospace industry, who have experience with the use of composites, Ebusco was able to look at the development process of the bus in a completely different way. Apart from the fact that the 3.0 series is light and yet exceptionally strong, it has several other advantages. The extensive use of composites makes the bus about 33 percent lighter than traditional buses and at the same time makes for improved insulation. With this extremely light and durable material in the main structure of the bodywork, the buses are capable of covering revolutionary distances with a single battery charge. Partly as a result of this, the Ebusco 3.0 series is a real example of innovation. The buses are also emission-free, low-noise, long-lasting and with a low TCO. All buses in the 3.0 series are based on the same advanced composite construction method.