Scania logs single order for 158 ethanol-fueled buses

Keolis Sverige, a transport company in Sweden, has placed an order for 158 biofuel-burning buses from Scania Group, one of the world's handful of manufacturers of heavy-duty coaches that are equipped with engines capable of running renewable fuels. The delivery to Keolis will consists of an assortment of urban, suburban and intercity buses, the majority of which will be used to service the greater Stockholm, Sweden area.

In the past, Scania delivered both ethanol- and biogas-fueled vehicles to Keolis, but the new shipment of buses will be equipped with engines that can burn either renewable ethanol or rapeseed methyl ester (RME). Compared to a conventional diesel engine, Scania claims that its ethanol-burning buses reduce CO2 emissions by 70 percent while its RME-fueled coaches reduce them by 64 percent.

Deliveries of the 158 buses will begin in April and the coaches will swing into service starting in June. By the end of 2011, Keolis' Swedish fleet will consist of approximately 2,000 buses, with more than 60 percent of them able to burn renewable fuels.