Berlin introduces wirelessly-charged electric bus Line

Berlin has become the first capital city to introduce a wirelessly charged electric bus, as part of a project funded by Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The Berlin Transport Authority, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) has introduced four Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses equipped with the Bombardier Primove inductive charging system and traction equipment from Vossloh Kiepe. The buses now operate on the 6.1 kilometre line 204 between Südkreuz and Zoologischer Garten (Hertzallee). Vos
September 4, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

Berlin has become the first capital city to introduce a wirelessly charged electric bus, as part of a project funded by Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.
The Berlin Transport Authority, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (7580 BVG) has introduced four Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses equipped with the Bombardier Primove inductive charging system and traction equipment from Vossloh Kiepe.

The buses now operate on the 6.1 kilometre line 204 between Südkreuz and Zoologischer Garten (Hertzallee). Vossloh Kiepe’s electric drive ensures the vehicles are not only emission-free, but also produce low vibration and noise, benefitting both passengers and the environment.

Each bus will be charged wirelessly and contactlessly via 513 Bombardier’s inductive Primove technology which enables the buses to recharge in just a few minutes.

Bombardier claims that the Primove battery system, with a total capacity of 90 kilowatt hours, offers sufficient energy reserves to handle even Berlin’s most demanding routes. In addition, the wireless charging system is well shielded so that the electromagnetic radiation is lower than that of a conventional induction cooker. To fully charge the batteries overnight and air condition the passenger compartment before starting operation, four stationary and one mobile charging station were also installed by Vossloh Kiepe at the BVG depot. There the buses are supplied with power via charging cables.

Like all BVG’s electric powered vehicles, the new Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses are powered exclusively with green electricity. BVG says that within one year, the four electric buses on the line 204 will travel a total of approximately 200,000 kilometres, saving 260 tons of CO2 emissions.

Networking & Communication Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Remote remedies help US authorities identify bridge deficiencies
    September 6, 2017
    Every day 185 million vehicles – cars, trucks, school buses, emergency response units - cross one or more of America’s 55,710 'structurally compromised' steel and concrete road bridges, the highest concentration of which are in Iowa (nearly 5,000), Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. Nearly 2,000 of these crossings are located on interstate highways, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association's recent analysis of the US Department of Transportation's 2016 National Bridge Inventory.
    Read More
  • Robotic Research: harnessing AV potential
    June 10, 2021
    Robotic Research is leading in AV R&D, from work with the US Army to enabling the first automated BRT line in North America: Gordon Feller assesses what the company is doing
    Read More
  • China’s Changzhou metro takes Bombardier train control tech
    October 1, 2019
    Bombardier Transportation has provided propulsion and signalling systems for trains running on China’s Changzhou Metro Line 1 in a bid to reduce travel time. Bombardier says its Cityflow 650 communications-based control solution enables automatic train operation at speeds of up to 80km/h on the line, which is expected to transport around 950,000 passengers per day. The company’s Chinese joint venture Bombardier NUG Signalling Solutions (BNS) and Bombardier NUG Propulsion System is to provide the technol
    Read More
  • Gotthard Base Tunnel opens in Switzerland
    June 1, 2016
    After 17 years of construction, the 57 kilometre-long Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, said to be the longest train tunnel in the world opens today, 1 June. At a depth inside the Gotthard massif of more than 2,000 metres, trains will travel at up to a maximum 250 kilometres per hour. The opening is attracting attention from high profile figures outside of Switzerland, including Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel, French president François Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who will al
    Read More

Highlighted Content