The most important output of this project is a vehicle manufacturing agnostic tool that will help decision makers about the most suitable and efficient charging strategy. This tool not only considers the current service of existing charging facilities and battery chemistries but it forecast the promising performance of novel technologies. The project will evaluate and develop a Decision-Support Tool (DST) as a helpful mechanism when facing the set of often incompatible technical decisions entailed by electrifying -totally or partially- a bus network. It will provide guidance with a multi-step process by which the social objectives will be met with their corresponding technical requirements, the cities’ and citizens’ characteristics will define a set of suitable technology solutions, and the trade-offs derived from the decisions taken will be clearly presented in socioeconomic terms to better educate them.

The evaluation process starts by defining, from a social benefit-pursuing point of view, the top requirements intended to be fulfilled by bus network electrification. The objectives are broken-down into their technical enablers and associated consequences. Subsequently the characteristics and conditions of the city are assessed and complemented with a description of their effects to the network’s technical requirements. Once the preparatory phase is complete, all the technical decision points (routes model, vehicle, and battery types, charging methods and protocols) are presented alongside with the commercially available options, to conclude with an explanation of their technical characteristics and their costs implications (acquisition and operational). The decision structure within the described process will be guided by the impact and trade-offs study developed with the data acquired in the demonstration pilots, and accompanied by a technology readiness study.