Supporting Belgian bus operators with electrification
Discover how Zenobē is supporting Belgian bus operators with electrification with nearly 70 electric buses across multiple depots.
From self-delivery to expert-led scale
Brinks' fleet electrification journey from a 6-vehicle pilot to a 25-vehicle deployment
72994
$800k
projected fuel savings
1,400
tonnes of Co2 emissions avoided
Brinks first attempted to electrify its fleet independently, deploying a small 6-vehicle pilot. Whilst the project succeeded, Brinks recognised that navigating infrastructure complexity, regulatory requirements and scaling challenges required specialist expertise. They partnered with Zenobē to accelerate their electrification programme with a larger 25 vehicle deployment.
Working with Zenobē, Brinks’ fleet was deployed in 12 months. The streamlined approach addressed infrastructure constraints, utility upgrades and cost minimisation. By combining detailed route analysis, smart charging technology, and Electric-Transport-as-a-Service management, Zenobē enabled Brinks to electrify faster and cheaper than their initial self-performed approach. The expanded project is projected to deliver $800,000 in combined fuel and maintenance savings whilst avoiding 1,400 tonnes of CO₂ emissions and has established a foundation for national portfolio expansion.
The challenge
Brinks’ initial 6-vehicle pilot, completed without utility upgrades, proved that in-house electrification was achievable but resource-intensive and complex. For the larger deployment, new challenges emerged:
- Scaling from 6 to 25 vehicles whilst managing a full utility upgrade – a constraint that would extend timelines by months if not expertly coordinated.
- Minimising energy costs by balancing daily route data, charging constraints, and range limits across a much larger fleet.
- Future-proofing infrastructure to support a path towards national portfolio electrification.
- Reducing total cost of ownership including both operational and maintenance budgets.
The solution
Zenobē’s expertise became the accelerant Brinks needed. Drawing on lessons from their initial pilot,
Zenobē:
- Acted as an extension of Brinks’ Operations team, seamlessly managing full programme delivery from analysis and planning through deployment and ongoing support, compressing timelines compared to Brinks’ self-directed approach.
- Installed innovative load control technology to balance power usage, prevent costly demand charges, reduce peak energy loads, and keep infrastructure operating within the site’s capacity, critical for managing the utility upgrade.
- Optimised fleet composition and charging patterns to maximise both fuel and maintenance savings, capitalising on the shift to modern vehicle types with lower operating costs.
- Managed stakeholder coordination across utilities, regulators , and operations teams, removing friction that had slowed the initial pilot.
- Provided an Electric-Transport-as-a-Service contract covering operational management, financing, maintenance, and extended battery warranty, transferring complexity and risk away from Brinks.
The outcome
The partnership delivered measurable results across multiple dimensions. Zenobē accelerated deployment, bringing 25 vehicles online within 12 months, faster than Brinks’ self-directed timeline. More importantly, both upfront capital and operating expenses were reduced through expert coordination and optimised infrastructure management. The project is projected to generate $800,000 in combined fuel and maintenance savings over the contract term, whilst avoiding 1,400 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
Beyond these immediate gains, the project has established a proven, scalable model that Brinks is now expanding nationally, transforming a complex, resource-intensive process into a repeatable pathway for fleet-wide electrification.
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