As technology improves, so does performance. That is exactly what was recorded a few days ago in Copenhagen, where one of the electric buses in service in the Danish capital set a new record.

The vehicle is a public electric bus powered by a battery pack produced by Chinese company Byd, an Asian firm specialising in electric vehicles and renewable energy. The bus covered an impressive 325 kilometres on a single charge, running at full capacity with the heating on throughout the entire journey. When it returned to the terminus, the bus still had 8 per cent of its energy remaining.

"Diesel buses have undergone rapid development in recent years," said Nohr Pedersen, chairman of Movia Traffik, the company responsible for public transport in the capital region. "The potential of fully electric buses is enormous given that there is no pollution and they are very quiet. We are really satisfied with the support received for this trial. Now we need to understand the long-term running costs."

A second test also yielded excellent results: at full load, the bus covered a distance of 150 kilometres over approximately 10 hours of operation, again with the heating on, given the city's average temperatures. Investment in electric public transport is also beginning to take off closer to home: in Savona, for example, a number of e-buses that recharge wirelessly are already running through the city.

These records add to the most recent milestone achieved by an electric bus, this time in New York. During a test also monitored by the city's public transport authority, the bus was able to run for approximately 30 hours between charges.