The emergence of electric mobility in urban public transportation, with a particular focus on electric buses, presents a promising solution to address emissions and environmental concerns. However, a significant challenge lies in ensuring continuous bus operation without the need for frequent charging. In-motion charging (IMC), often referred to as dynamic charging, is a concept engineered to overcome this challenge.

A comprehensive study was undertaken to know the potential and practicality of intercity IMC buses. A bus model was developed to assess the power traction capabilities of these vehicles. This model served as the foundation for exploring four distinct charging scenarios, each characterized by varying charging powers and strategies. An investigation into the battery load profiles observed in intercity IMC buses across the different charging scenarios was done. This was essential for understanding the intricacies of power demand, especially in scenarios where the bus relies heavily on catenary charging. Notably, the introduction of in-motion charging in the first scenario (IMC only) underscored the critical role of catenary charging power in meeting operational demands. Subsequent integration of a stationary charging system at Arnhem Central showcased the potential to reduce catenary charging power, offering prospects for enhancing battery health. IMC with opportunity charging and overnight charging were also explored.

The second part of the thesis delved into the comparative effect of various charging scenarios on the aging of commonly employed battery chemistries in IMC vehicles. Using comprehensive battery models, the aging dynamics under diverse conditions were studied. It became evident that each scenario held distinct implications for battery aging.

Lastly, the study addressed the pivotal question of cost-effective battery selection for intercity IMC buses. An exploration of four distinct scenarios, in conjunction with different battery chemistries, yielded valuable insights into their respective performances. Lithium-titanate (LTO) batteries consistently emerged as the preferred choice. Their extended lifespan, reduced replacement frequency, and overall cost-effectiveness positioned them as the frontrunners in the context of intercity IMC bus systems. This consensus held across most scenarios, underscoring the practicality of LTO batteries.

In conclusion, the transportation sector's substantial impact on greenhouse gas emissions and urban air quality necessitates innovative and sustainable solutions. Intercity IMC buses, along with optimal battery selection and charging strategies, represent a promising avenue for sustainable urban transportation. Among battery chemistries, LTO batteries was proven to be the most cost-effective choice for powering intercity IMC bus operations.

Battery electric vehicles have gained a substantial market share in the last few years. The call for good charging infrastructure is urgent with the rapid shift from carbon-based cars toward battery electric vehicles. However, the present electrical distribution networks are not designed for large additional loads. Many cities have traction networks such as trams, metros, or trolleybuses for public transport purposes. This thesis explores the potential for charging electric vehicles directly from these traction networks. A case study uses public charging behavior to simulate EV charging on the trolleygrid network of Arnhem. Moreover, six smart grid methods are evaluated to increase a traction network's electric vehicle charging potential. Various trolleygrid parameters such as the trolleybus intensity, section length, and the charger's location on the trolleygrid play a role in the charging potential. An individual area can fully charge up to 111 electric vehicles daily. This study shows that increasing the substation capacity and introducing smart charging are the two smart grid methods that increase the potential up to 201 EVs/day. Adding an extra overhead line has a minor effect on the charging potential (+12 EVs/day). Increasing the substation nominal voltage has the same impact as the last mentioned method but is cheaper to implement. At the connection point of two isolated sections, the best smart grid methods are introducing a bilateral connection and using a multi-port converter. Charging battery electric vehicles from traction networks could be a suitable alternative to increase the charging possibilities in cities.

Trolleybuses are electric buses than run on electric power from overhead electric power lines (catenary) like trams do. Although is a service that dates all the way back to 1882, it has managed to regain interest in the recent years due to the constant electrification of various aspects of the world. This comes as a response towards environmental challenges as, even today, the majority of the energy necessary to cover our need comes from fossil fuels, making the transition to renewable energy sources more vital. One promising form of renewable energy source is solar energy and its use with photovoltaic (PV) systems. An interesting implementation of such systems is in catenary grids like trolleybus grids. Nevertheless, their integration has a low potential as the gaps in the trolleybus schedule and the intermittent behavior of the PV electric power leave a lot of excess PV electric energy unused. Possible solutions to this problem could be either the storage of this excess energy in on-board energy storage systems (OESS) or stationary energy storage systems (SESS). Besides that, in preparation for the future, more attention is given every day to the multifunctionality of trolleybus grids. This is related to parameters such as voltage drops, that have important role in rendering the trolleybus grid capable of being expanded with components other than trolleybuses, such as electric vehicle chargers.

The objective of this thesis work is to find out which energy storage systems (on-board or stationary) are most favorable for a PV-powered multifunctional trolleybus grid for increasing the PV system utilization and improving its multifunctionality. Parameters related to the multifunctionality of trolleybus grids can be the yearly electric energy consumption and the voltage drops.

For the conduction of this work is used an existing, verified trolleybus grid model of Arnhem in MATLAB that has realistic trolleybus electric power profiles as an input. By using the backward-forward sweep method are determined precise values such as the total electric power needed, voltage drops, ohmic losses and more. Also, is used as an existing, verified PV system model that provides the PV electric power as an output based on measured data. Then is developed a model for the on-board energy storage system which with the help of a constraint checking algorithm, that simulates the energy storage technologies, it provides new, adjusted trolleybus electric power profiles that are used as input to the trolleybus grid model. Finally, for the stationary energy storage system, the main trolleybus grid model is expanded with storage capabilities based on voltage control and a similar constraint checking algorithm for the storage technologies.

The results show that the impact of stationary energy storage systems on the PV system utilization and on parameters of the trolleybus grid in general is heavily correlated to the control strategy used. The technology, the PV system size, the trolleybus grid section, and the targeted outcome (improve the PV system utilization or reduce the voltage drops) have key role to the selection of the control strategy. The comparison of stationary energy storage systems to other energy storage systems cannot be straightforward. Besides that, on-board energy storage systems can perform better on parameters regarding the multifunctionality of the trolleybus grid such as the total yearly electric energy consumption and the mitigation of the severity of the voltage drops. On the other hand, stationary energy storage systems can perform well on a wide range of parameters according to their control strategy. For the one used in this work, they perform better on parameters regarding the PV system utilization, managing to have a positive impact.

The trolleybus traction grids, an effective electrification solution for urban transport, can become more sustainable and efficient through the direct integration of solar photovoltaic systems. Previous research shows different results for this application. The aim of this study is to identify a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and to study their effects on the feasibility of integrating PV in two trolleygrids, Arnhem (Nl) and Gdynia (Pl). This is done through the simulation of the yearly operation of the trolleygrids with PV systems integrated at substation level. It is demonstrated that the integration of PV in trolleybus traction grids can vary depending on the characteristics of the grid and the location. In particular, the increase in power demand, in number of sections served, in the traffic conditions and in the radiation and sunshine duration levels induces an improvement in the performance of PV. The average length of the sections supplied and the removal of the HVAC demand on the other hand, are not beneficial to the integration of PV. It is concluded that the potential of integrating PV in the Gdynia trolleygrid is higher than the one in Arnhem. It is also shown, that the introduction of storage always improves the PV potential.

We are in the middle of a transition to zero-emission mobility. The European Union has set high targets for zero-emission bus sales. Many European local governments and public-transit operators are looking to replace their GHG-emitting diesel/gas bus fleets with clean alternatives. One such alternative is In Motion Charging (IMC) technology for trolleybuses. With this technology trolleybuses are able to charge an on-board traction battery whilst in motion and connected to the overhead wires. This makes it possible for these buses to extend their range outside the trolleygrid infrastructure. These IMC buses can replace diesel/gas buses. IMC is of particular interest for municipalities that currently have a functioning trolleybus fleet and infrastructure. Existing infrastructures are however not built with the increased power demand of IMC buses in mind. A good understanding of the power demand of IMC buses and the limits of a trolleygrid is necessary before implementing IMC buses. The explanatory research that is presented in this report aims to give insight in the design factors that influence the feasibility of adding in-motion charging buses to an existing trolleybus network. It does so by first explaining the difference in energy consumption between IMC buses and regular trolleybuses through simulations. Next, by performing a case study on the Arnhem trolleygrid the effect of IMC buses on the trolleygrid is discovered. The results of the energy consumption comparison indicate that there is promising potential for IMC implementation. It shows that there is a large margin in which IMC buses can make more efficient use of their regenerative energy compared to their regular trolleybus counterparts. It also shows that there are large degrees of freedom in IMC bus implementation leaving room for errors. The Arnhem case study uncovers where exactly these errors lie by looking at potential power demand, minimum voltage and maximum current limit breaches on the network. As long as these breaches can be mitigated through smart charging strategies there is a lot of promise for IMC bus implementation on existing trolleygrid infrastructures.

Trolleybus systems may be a sustainable and cheap alternative to diesel and battery buses. However, to improve sustainablity, the trolleybus system must be powered by renewable energy sources. In this work, a case study on the Arnhem trolleybus grid is performed. First the bus power demands and bus traffic are constructed for the whole system, afterwards Photovoltaics and wind energy sources assited by ESS are sized to investigate the effects on renewable power utilization. It was found that for the Arnhem trolleybus system, a centralized approach with equal shares PV (51%, 4.3 MWp) and wind (49%, 1.75 MWp) and diurnal energy storage (5MWh - 10MWh) can provide a 72% to 78% of the total trolleybus load. This system will reduce the CO2 emissions by 80% over a 30-year lifespan.