ICE receives six electric buses donated by the People's Republic of China to Costa Rica

This ICE release was published using machine translation.

This Wednesday morning, the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) received six electric buses donated by the People's Republic of China to Costa Rica. The units will serve to advance the exploration of business models that encourage the transition of people transportation to sustainable technologies.

The activity took place at the ICE Campus in Colima de Tibás. Present were Marco Acuña, president of Grupo ICE; Tang Heng, ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Costa Rica; Stephan Brunner, vice president of the Republic; Alejandro Solano, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religion , and Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy, as well as the ICE Management Body.

These buses do not generate noise pollution, and their operation means 98% less gases emitted into the environment compared to a bus powered by diesel. It is planned that they will initially be integrated into a route outside the Greater Metropolitan Area and in Free Zones, to reach rural and worker transportation segments.

They have a 350 kilowatt hour capacity battery, which in Costa Rica stores clean electricity from the national matrix. The vehicles can transport up to 83 people (37 seated and 46 standing). Their estimated recharge time is two hours, and with that energy they have an average range of 300 kilometers.

“We are demonstrating that the benefits of sustainable mobility reach people, their homes and their jobs, as well as entrepreneurs who decide to replace combustion units. We thank the People's Republic of China for the donation, which contributes to our objectives of electrifying the economy and generating economic, social and environmental value,” Acuña said.

For his part, Ambassador Heng stated that “since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2007, bilateral relations between China and Costa Rica have developed without problems. Efforts have been made in all sincerity to provide extensive and diverse aid that responds to the development needs of the country.”

He added that “these buses will contribute to improving transportation facilities and quality of life of residents. In the future, both countries will continue to strengthen coordination against climate change and environmental governance, to together build a community of shared destiny for humanity.”

In June 2023, Costa Rica began the process of structuring a business model to incorporate electric buses into public transportation. The project is led by the Government of the Republic with the support of ICE, and has the support of the electricity distribution companies, the Regulator and the transporters.