As the demand for sustainable and energy-efficient transport systems continues to grow, ABB is pleased to announce that it will supply one of its Heavy Vehicle Charger 300P for Göttinger Verkehrsbetriebe (GöVB), which provides a public bus transport in the German university city of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony.
The initiative forms part of Göttingen and GöVB’s ambitious plans to transform the city’s public transport system into a greener and more sustainable network, with a greater reliance on electrification.
The HVC 300P, which will be placed in GöVB’s city depot, will power four new Volvo electric hybrid buses on key bus routes in central Göttingen.
Thomas Zimmermann, authorised representative and Head of operations for GöVB added: “GöVB is keen to take over its responsibility as municipal transport organization for the city of Göttingen and aims, through this initiative, to reduce noise emissions and improve air quality for local residents.”
The HVC 300P fast charge system delivers 300kW DC output power and will recharge a battery in three to six minutes. It is based on OppCharge, an open interface for DC electric bus charging using a pantograph mounted on the infrastructure for endpoint opportunity charging. This allows buses to be charged at the end point of the line, without impacting on the normal operation of the route.
The system will charge four Volvo Electric Hybrid buses which will deliver quiet, exhaust-free operation between charges. The electric hybrid buses are also fitted with a small diesel engine that extends the range and offers greater flexibility.
Commenting on the initiative, Frank Mühlon, head of ABB’s Global Business for Electric Vehicle Charging, said: “We are pleased to support GöVB’s drive to develop a more environmentally friendly and sustainable public transport system in Göttingen.
“ABB has been at the forefront of developing greener solutions and has pioneered the creation of flexible and high-quality electric charging systems that allow electric buses to operate efficiently. This is a positive step forward, which we hope will be replicated across Europe and beyond.”
Looking to the future, the 300kW charging power gives GöVB the potential to increase the number of vehicles it wishes to charge or to charge batteries with a higher capacity.
ABB has been a leader in enabling smarter, greener and emission-free transport networks across the globe through its EV charging infrastructure and its ABB Ability™ platform that allows for end to end network management for commercial vehicles such as buses.
ABB Ability also links to ABB’s Driver Care system, which will allow GöVB to constantly monitor its charging points and collect real-time information on the devices and diagnose potential issues remotely. ABB Ability also allows for the effective planning of maintenance, to eliminate potential failures and improve the entire maintenance and service process.
“We recognize how important it is for our customers to provide efficient and reliable transport networks. That’s why we have invested in developing a range of solutions that harness the power of the web to give operators instant access to performance information. It’s this ability to keep a fleet of electric vehicles on the road and on time, that makes ABB such as strong partner,” added Muehlon.
The project, which is set to go live at the end of the first quarter of 2018, will be supported by a dedicated team of ABB engineers and service personnel.
ABB has provided charging solutions as part of its drive to promote sustainable mobility since 2010 and has sold more than 5,000 Cloud-connected DC fast-chargers around the world for passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
