The new generation of electric buses – flash charging at the bus stops
ABB develops as the first company in the world a system of electric buses which can be charged wireless. For the power flash charging of the buses carrying large numbers of passangers are merely 15 seconds enough, therefore there is no need for overhead lines as in the case of the trolleys.
ABB as a leader in power and automation technologies advanced the idea of the trolleys, since it’s developing such a network of electric buses where the boost charging proceeds wireless, at the bus shelters. The new charging method will be applied for the first time on such vehicles which have a length of 18 meters and can even carry 135 passangers. The basics are that unlike to the trolleys the electric bus doesn’t rely on overhead lines as it receives the energy for the progression from a 400 kW fast charger.
The system was equipped with a laser-controlled movable arm which connects automatically in case of charging to the junction mounted on the top of the bus shelter. For this process there are only those 15 seconds required per 3 or 4 bus stops while the passanger get on or off the vehicle resp. one longer, 3 or 4 minute charge while the bus is waiting in the terminal.
The electric bus is equipped with a high-capacity battery which stores the energy from the roof-mounted charging equipment as well as that from the vehicle’s braking. This battery ensures the energy supply of both the bus and its auxiliary services, such as interior lighting. The solution of ABB has several advantages as it combines the benefical features of a with an internal-combustion engine driven bus and a trolley. On the one hand, compared to the trolleys, there’s no need for overhead lines scarping the urban environment and landscape as they fit aesthetically to the constitution of the bus stop, moreover the route of the ultrafast chargable electric bus can be arranged more flexible than that of the trolley. On the other hand the system is free of any emission of hazardous substances because the used electric energy is supplied from environment-friendly water energy.
The first official test of the system of ABB takes place in Geneva where the electric buses equipped with a fast-charger cover the 1.82 km long distance between the international airport and the Palexpo exhibition center in approximately 3,5 minutes. ABB cooperates on the electric bus system pilot project with the city’s public transport company (TGP), the Office for the Promotion of Industries and Technologies (OPI) and the Geneva power utility SIG.
TOSA bus Geneva INFOGRAPHIC.pdf
