ABB electric fast chargers creating a greener Gothenburg

ABB has won an order to supply high-power electric chargers for 30 fully electric buses in the City of Gothenburg, Sweden, a city committed to the development and testing of solutions for sustainable public transport. The chargers from ABB will be delivered during the summer of 2019, with operations due to start in October. Financial details of the order were not disclosed.

The long-term vision for the city is that a greater number of electric buses will drive in its streets. Key to achieving this is the electrification of line 60, one of the busiest bus lines in Gothenburg, together with lines 59 and 62. This will lead to lower emissions of environmentally harmful substances and a quieter and calmer urban environment for city inhabitants. During 2018, almost 6.9 million trips were made on line 60 and approximately 780, 000 trips on lines 59 and 62.

Deploying electric buses requires new charging infrastructure. The buses on line 60 will be charged by 300kW High Power chargers from ABB, a modular solution based on OppCharge, an open interface for direct current (DC) electric bus charging, which offers high-power charging via an automated rooftop connection.

The buses will be recharged in just three to six minutes in the depot in Kruthusgatan and fast charged at the endpoints of the line in Masthugget and at Redbergsplatsen.

”A stable charging infrastructure is crucial for our timetable, with the bus service running every fourth minute in the rush hour. By fast charging at the endpoints, we ensure traffic continues to flow and at the same time provide our passengers and drivers with a better environment with less noise and improved air quality,” said Dan Paulström, Business line Manager for GS Buss.

With its innovative ABB Ability™ offering of digital solutions and services across all business areas, ABB is a leader in digital industries. Forming part of the ABB Ability™ portfolio of digital solutions, the high-power chargers also allow for better visibility and control of infrastructure networks, minimizing downtime and increasing efficiency. ABB Ability™ delivers web-enabled connectivity that allows network operators to perform several functions, including the remote monitoring and configuration of charge points.

ABB’s fast-chargers
ABB entered the EV-charging market back in 2010 and has sold 10,500 ABB DC fast chargers across 73 countries, more fast chargers than any other manufacturer. On this basis of experience, ABB has created a robust system for high-power charging of heavy vehicles with many advantages. ABB’s chargers are used in production and control facilities for electric vehicles all over the world, including extreme environments such as the Arctic Circle and in desert climates. Many chargers are used for intensive testing 24 hours on day, 360 days a year, by automotive manufacturers such as BMW, Volkswagen and Volvo Bus.

Fortune Magazine recently ranked ABB #8 on its list of companies that are “changing the world” for the advances it has made in e-mobility and electric vehicle charging.

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader with a comprehensive offering for digital industries. With a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB is today a leader in digital industries with four customer-focused, globally leading businesses: Electrification, Industrial Automation, Motion, and Robotics & Discrete Automation, supported by its common ABB Ability™ digital platform. ABB’s marketleading Power Grids business will be divested to Hitachi in 2020. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees. www.abb.com