Buses and coaches manufacturer, Volvo Buses, has awarded a contract to ABB’s Electrification Products division to install bus charging systems to power the largest single network of electric buses and bus-charging stations in Europe.

The order, which follows a previous order of three systems, includes the installation of 12 OppCharge charging stations in Charleroi and Belgium.

The state-of-the-art fast-charging systems, which are capable of charging hybrid and electric buses in just three to six minutes, will power 101 Volvo hybrid-electric buses serving the Wallonia public transport system.

"The systems are based on the OppCharge open-standards interface and are compatible with electric buses from different manufacturers."

The systems are based on the OppCharge open-standards interface and are compatible with electric buses from different manufacturers. Installation of the systems will be completed in 2018.

Global infrastructure firm, Mouchel, has secured a contract from AECOM to jointly work on two new projects awarded by Highways England (HE) for HE’s Smart Motorway Programme.

The two schemes, including the M62 Junction 10 to 12 and the M6 Junction 21a to 26, will ease traffic congestion and improve connectivity in the region.

Mouchel’s contractual scope includes provision of engineering and designing services such as operational assessments and traffic technology services for electronic signs and signals, as well as CCTV and monitoring equipment.

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has awarded a contract worth NOK2.3bn ($274m) to Skanska for the construction of E6 road in southern Helgeland, Norway.

The construction company is responsible for design and build of 133km of road in Nordland County, under the contract. It is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the entire road for a period of 15 years.

Work on the road will begin in April 2017 and is scheduled for completion by 2021.

Ford Motor has announced that it will invest $1bn in an artificial intelligence company, Argo AI, whose robotics talent and expertise will be used to develop virtual driver system for the Ford’s upcoming SAE level 4 self-driving vehicles.

The partnership will develop a virtual driver system, which is a machine-learning software that acts as the brain of the vehicle. While Ford focuses on the vehicle design, hardware platform systems integration, manufacturing and regulatory policy management, Argo will work with the company’s autonomous vehicle software development team.

Image: ABB will install charging systems for electric buses in Europe. Photo: courtesy of ABB.