ABB fast charging technology to be implemented by UK bus company

Electric charging technology specialist ABB has won a contract to supply three HVC 300P electric bus charging stations for a fleet of Volvo electric buses that will be operated in Harrogate, UK by Transdev Blazefield from 2018. ABB will also supply an electricity substation for installation at a bus station serving the town. The project will use OppCharge for ‘opportunity charging’, where buses are charged while they wait at bus stops at the end of the line equipped with fast-charging infrastructure. The bu
April 25, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Electric charging technology specialist 4540 ABB has won a contract to supply three HVC 300P electric bus charging stations for a fleet of 609 Volvo electric buses that will be operated in Harrogate, UK by 8574 Transdev Blazefield from 2018. ABB will also supply an electricity substation for installation at a bus station serving the town.


The project will use OppCharge for ‘opportunity charging’, where buses are charged while they wait at bus stops at the end of the line equipped with fast-charging infrastructure. The buses will connect automatically to ABB’s HVC 300P chargers, which feature an overhead charging mast that charges via the buses’ on-board pantographs. An advantage is that the HVC 300P units are compatible with the OppCharge interface, so will be compatible with other brands and models of electric buses that use opportunity charging.

Charging will take only three to six minutes, eliminating the need to wait for long charging periods. The technology is the latest that Transdev Blazefield has introduced to reduce emissions and improve other aspects of bus travel. As well as enabling zero emission public transport, opportunity charging allows the size of batteries on board the electric buses to be reduced, reducing the overall weight of the buses and improving the energy efficiency of the bus network.

Related Content

  • May 3, 2017
    ABB, Scania trial electric buses in Sweden
    Swiss power and automation technology company ABB is to provide two ABB HVC300P fast-chargers for a Scania electric bus trial in Östersund, Sweden. The chargers are based on OppCharge, an open interface for the automated charging of electric buses from any manufacturer, and use a pantograph on the infrastructure to connect the bus to the charging point. The buses will be operated by Nettbuss, a subsidiary of the Norwegian State Railways, NSB. The two charging stations will be built at both ends of a 14-kilo
    Read More
  • February 10, 2017
    Belgian cities opt for Volvo electric buses
    Volvo Buses has secured a major order for electric buses from Belgian public transport company TEC Group, which has ordered 90 Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid buses and 12 charging stations to be deployed in the cities of Charleroi and Namur. The charging stations will be supplied by ABB. Volvo's electric hybrids and ABB's fast-charging systems are based on a common interface known as OppCharge, which enables the charging stations to also be used by electrified buses from other vehicle manufacturers. OppCharg
    Read More
  • June 1, 2018
    ABB to deliver fast charging solution to Denmark
    Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) will deliver four electric buses and a fast charger to the city of Aarhus, Denmark, and its bus operator Busselskabet Aarhus Sporveje. The vehicles will replace four diesel buses to combat air pollution and they are expected to be operational by August 2019. ABB’s 300kW OppCharge platform will be located at the end point of the 15km long route of line 13, where the buses will be recharged. OppCharge can power single and double-deck electric buses using a pantograph to connect the
    Read More
  • October 26, 2017
    ABB unveils Smart Charging solutions for bus depots, Busworld 2017
    ABB has presented its overnight charging products and smart charging functionality at Busworld 2017 in Kortrijk, Belgium. The technology aims to provide a cost-effective solution for charger larger fleets of buses during the night and ensure zero emission transportation during the day.
    Read More

Highlighted Content