Göteborg Energi orders two Opbrid Bůsbaar ultra-fast bus charging stations for HyperBus project
03 July 2012
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| The Opbrid Bůsbaar stations will be located at the ends of the #60 route. Click to enlarge. |
Göteborg Energi, the electricity provider for the City of Gothenburg, awarded a contract to Opbrid SL (Granada, Spain) to provide two Opbrid Bůsbaar ultra-fast bus charging stations (earlier post) for the HyperBus (Hybrid and Plug-in Extended Range) demonstration project in Gothenburg City. This project will consist of three new Volvo plug-in hybrid buses running in traffic and charging for 5-8 minutes at each end of the #60 bus line.
The plug-in hybrid bus is based on the existing Volvo 7900 hybrid bus design, but with the addition of a larger, energy-optimized battery and the ability to connect to the Opbrid Bůsbaar ultra-fast charging station. Use of the Bůsbaar extends the all-electric range of the hybrid bus to a predicted 75% or more of the route.
The Volvo 7900 parallel hybrid is Volvo Buses’ second series-produced hybrid bus model. An electronic control module regulates engagement and disengagement of electric and diesel power, as well as gear-changing modes and recharging of the Li-ion battery. The close-ratio Volvo I-Shift automated transmission has software that is optimized for city and commuter traffic.
The 4-cylinder, 5-liter Volvo D5F diesel engine produces 215 bhp and is installed vertically in the left rear corner. The hybrid offers up to 37% fuel savings compared to a diesel version and 40-50% lower exhaust emissions. On 11 June, Volvo Buses delivered 25 new hybrid buses to Göteborg.
The plug-in hybrid buses will use electricity as their primary power source and diesel for supplementary power. Energy consumption is estimated to be reduced by 60% and CO2 by 75% compared to conventional diesel buses.
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| Heavy rail pantographs and the Furrer+Frey conductor rail are designed to handle very high currents. Source: Opbrid. Click to enlarge. |
Use of the Bůsbaar. At the end of the bus route, the driver pulls up underneath the Opbrid Bůsbaar charging station, and the tram-like pantographs on the bus roof quickly rise up to contact the Bůsbaar, which can implemented with either a fixed or a swinging arm. The charging process is completely automatic, with the driver never having to leave the bus. When the batteries are charged, the driver continues on the route.
The Bůsbaar is designed for high current capacity (1,000A max, depending on pantograph design) and high voltage capacity (1,000V max DC). Built by the Swiss electric rail supplier Furrer+Frey, Germany’s Schaefer and Austria’s Schunk SBI, the Bůsbaar is simple and safe and can be installed easily in any location since it is unobtrusive and about the size of a bus shelter.
The Arctic Whisper fast-charged bus in Umeå (earlier post) uses a Bůsbaar with a 300 kW charger developed by Schaefer.
HyperBus. The HyperBus project is funded partly by the EU Life+ Innovation program, as well as with contributions from Business Region Göteborg, Göteborg Energi, City of Göteborg Traffic & Public Transport Authority, Volvo Buses and the public transport company Västtrafik.
The Hyper Bus project began on 1 September 2011 and will run until 2014. It can be divided into four sub-areas:
demonstration of plug-in technology for hybrid buses;
rapid-charge stations;
tests in real city environments on existing bus routes; and
the publication of results and experiences from the project.
Pretty awesome system.
Let's hope the economics are 'good enough.'
Posted by: Davemart | 03 July 2012 at 03:00 PM
Indeed. Once this is in the field, it's going to get attention. I hop that's positive attention.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 03 July 2012 at 03:31 PM
Typo.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 03 July 2012 at 03:31 PM
It sounds good, but I wonder what it does to their timetable - how long used they spend at the end of each run ?
The drivers must like it - 5-8 minutes rest at end of the run.
I suppose they could tweek the times to keep the buses running on time, even at the expense of a lower (or variable) charge size.
As long they have a PHEV bus that can run on diesel, they can do this.
Alternately, they could put extra charging points at frequently used bus stops and grab a few extra Joules.
Posted by: mahonj | 04 July 2012 at 05:45 AM
This is taking fast charge a few more steps forward. If you can recharge a large bus with 300KW in about 5 minutes, one could recharge an e-car in under five minutes with similar charging facilities.
Very fast wireless automated charge points will eventually recharge EVs in 5 minutes or less. No time will be wasted will billing/charges as automated $$/Charge will be a pre-requisite to getting a charge in the first place. Drive over a charge point, stop there for 3 to 5 minutes and drive off. The EV on-board display will show and record the essential charge/cost data.
Recent wireless charging technologies could do all of that before 2015.
Posted by: HarveyD | 09 July 2012 at 05:51 PM