Chile’s first electric bus factory, Reborn Electric Motor has started production. The presence of the electric bus factory is expected to reduce Chile’s dependence on oil.
Reborn Electric Motor’s production facility is located about 84 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, Santiago. The factory is targeted to produce 200 electric buses a year. The 200 electric buses produced annually are expected to keep around 65,000 tons of carbon out of the atmosphere.
Chile is known as the largest copper producer in the world. The Pacific Ocean nation is aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. State-owned copper giant Codelco also has a vision to be copper neutral.
The Reborn electric bus, which is already in operation, is used to transport workers at the Teniente Codelco mine.
“We take diesel buses, take out the diesel motor, the diesel tank, and we install lithium ion batteries and electric motor and control system, and with that we have end up with a bus with zero emissions at a much more accessible price,” said Reborn co-founder Ricardo Repenning.
Meanwhile, Cevallos hopes to help promote the industry from Chile for global use.
“Our goal is for state-of-the-art technology to be produced from Chile and that this technology can be used globally,” said Felipe Cevallos, the company’s general manager.
