Researchers part of $887K FTA project to optimize efficiency on zero emission bus materials

Published: Mar 21, 2025 1:55 PM

By Joe McAdory

As the public transit industry evolves toward electric, battery-powered bus systems, it faces a new challenge. How can battery charging times be minimized during operational hours while maintaining, or even extending, route distances?

A multi-disciplinary team of Auburn Engineering researchers believe one critical area for improvement is the energy efficiency of bus construction materials, such as windows and structural panels. These components significantly impact heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems, which are major energy consumers in electric buses.

Led by principal investigator Bryan Beckingham, the Mary and John H. Sanders Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University is part of an $887,985 study, “Zero Emission Bus Material Efficiency Optimization,” to address engineering challenges associated with energy efficiency of zero emission bus materials.

Funded by the Federal Transit Administration’s Low and No Emission Bus Component Assessment Program (LoNo-CAP), Auburn is collaborating with the Center for Transportation and the Environment on the project.

Auburn University won a competitive award in 2017 to become one of two LoNo-CAP facilities nationwide. Originally envisioned as strictly a bus component testing program, efforts spearheaded by an Auburn team composed of Mark Hoffman (the Woltosz War Eagle Motorsports Associate Professor in mechanical engineering), Christian Brodbeck (director of engineering research operations) and then-College of Engineering Associate Dean for Research and current SVP for Research and Economic Development Steven Taylor, resulted in programmatic changes, allowing the use of LoNo-CAP funding for transit relevant directed research and capital investment.

Overall, the FTA has committed $26 million to Auburn’s LoNo-CAP efforts, of which $6 million is reserved for competitively awarded directed research projects at Auburn University. The bus material efficiency project headed by Beckingham was funded in the first round of Auburn’s LoNo-CAP Directed Research Program.

“There's a fundamental difference between an electric bus and a combustion engine bus in that you don't receive energy to heat or cool the bus from the engine but from the battery power,” said Beckingham, also director of the college’s Center for Polymers and Advanced Composites. “HVAC systems draw a lot of power from the batteries. We're trying to learn about the materials buses are made from and how they can use energy more efficiently.”

Joining Beckingham as co-PIs are assistant professors Cassandra Porter and Michael Howard (chemical engineering), Lauren Beckingham (the W. Allen and Martha Reed Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and associate department chair), Hoffman and Brodbeck.

For three years, the team will:

Compile current transit bus window and structural panel material specifications in partnership with industry and regulatory agencies.
Develop a testing methodology and apparatus to benchmark these materials and compile results.
Analyze energy losses through these materials under different environmental scenarios using a heat transfer model.

“When examining the materials currently in use, there's a lot of ambiguity about what is considered good,” Beckingham said. “Part of our project involves understanding the existing regulatory and testing practices and providing recommendations. As you might imagine, companies often test their products in ways that make them look the best, which can lead to difficulty in making comparisons.”

Bryan Beckingham and Porter will develop the characterization methodology and a characterization test bed at Auburn, while Lauren Beckingham and Howard will build a computational heat transfer model for electric buses that incorporates material properties and environmental data.

“The model will simulate the energy efficiency of buses using different materials leveraging the material properties we determine from our testing methodology,” Bryan Beckingham said. “We’ll use different environmental scenarios with various materials to build a model that helps transportation authorities better understand what materials are best for their buses.”

Hoffman and Brodbeck facilitate Auburn’s LoNo-CAP initiative.

The beneficiaries? Various transportation departments and passengers nationwide.

“Many are transitioning, to or want to transition, to electric fleets,” Beckingham said. “If we can make a more energy-efficient bus, it will drive farther before needing to charge, which means fewer buses will be required to run the same number of routes every day.”

Media Contact: Joe McAdory, jem0040@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447