French multinational company Alstom has premiered new ground-based recharge system SRS, specially designed for electric buses in Malaga, Spain.

Under the European pilot project Prototype for Alternative Operation of Mobility Assets (PALOMA), an SRS prototype has been installed to operate at a bus stop near the University of Malaga’s School of Industrial Engineering.

Fitted with a 200kW charger, the system is designed for a 12m Linkker e-bus circulating on EMT-operated Bus Line 1 in the southern Spanish city.

It is designed to automatically recharge on-board equipment in minutes without the need for overhead infrastructure equipment.

Alstom Systems and Infrastructure vice-president Eric Marie said: “This installation of SRS for e-buses in an important step for both Alstom and the city of Malaga, taking us a step further in the move towards fully sustainable urban mobility.

“We are proud of what has been achieved in collaboration with our consortium partners Endesa and Mansel, and of course the support of the City of Malaga and EMT Malaga, both of which are now pioneers.

“The project in Spain shows a way forward for the smooth operation of the enormous electric bus fleets we will see in coming years across Europe.”

Co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund and CDTI funding tool, the PALOMA project seeks to develop an automatic, ground-level rapid charging system operating prototype for e-buses.

Alstom is working on the project with consortium partners Endesa and Mansel. The team is being backed by the City of Malaga, transport operator EMT Malaga and the University of Malaga.