Optimal battery management strategies for plug-in electric hybrid buses on routes including green corridors

Public transport is a cornerstone in the transition towards sustainable cities. Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions can be further reduced through powertrain electrification. In this context, plug-in electric hybrid buses emerge as a suitable and flexible solution. They can switch between an electric motor and a combustion engine during operation. An optimal electric drive assignment strategy allows achieving a high electric range and reduced tailpipe emissions. In this work, we look for optimal strategies for maximizing the distance traversed in electric mode and minimizing the total emissions, for real routes including green corridors where the combustion engine cannot be used. Contrary to existing works, this approach does not only focus on the improvement of the bus performance in terms of energy consumption, but also on the environmental benefits and livability of cities. This challenge is solved using two multi-objective state-of-the-art evolutionary algorithms, and a novel heuristic, GreenK. Two real- world scenarios are analyzed, namely bus routes M6 in Badalona, and 18 in Grudziadz. Results show a significant reduction in emissions of up to 21% with respect to the strategy found by GreenK, meaning 24 kg less pollutants emitted daily and over 22.5% electric range increase, compared to the currently deployed solution. •Tailored studies of buses route are essential for sustainable transport.•Optimal battery strategies increase bus performance and livability of cities.•Green corridors can be efficiently deployed using multi-objective algorithms.•Over 24 kg of CO2 savings in pollutant emissions per route per day is accomplished.