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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ABB deploys 30 fast-charging stations in Zurich
    August 8, 2018
    Swiss power and automation company Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) has deployed 30 fast-charging stations to Zurich to support the city’s transition to sustainable mobility. The Terra 54 stations will be implemented in central, publicly-accessible locations in the city and surrounding areas. ABB says the solution is suitable for charging electric cars, buses and trucks quickly to add range of 100-300km.
    Read More
  • Gothenburg launches electric bus route 55
    June 16, 2015
    Gothenburg, Sweden, has launched the city’s first route for electric buses on bus route 55 using three completely electrically driven buses and seven electric hybrid buses, all from Volvo Buses. The buses are also equipped with onboard wi-fi and phone charging facilities.
    Read More
  • CCTV brings transit safety into view
    September 15, 2014
    David Crawford looks at camera-based vulnerable road users protection systems.Safe and efficient operation of road-based transit depends on minimising the risks of incidents involving other vehicles or vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and passengers boarding or alighting from buses or trams. The extent and quality of the visibility available to drivers is crucial in preventing and avoiding incidents. Conventionally, they have had to rely on fairly basic equipment - essentially the human
    Read More
  • Volvo Group studies potential to test electric roads in a city
    May 21, 2014
    The Volvo Group is now taking the next step in the development of sustainable transport solutions. In collaboration with the Swedish Transport Administration, the Volvo Group will study the potential for building electric roads, where city buses can be charged from electricity in the road at the same time as the bus is in operation. The benefit is quieter and more climate-smart public transport. A 300- to 500-metre electric road may be built for test operations in central Gothenburg during 2015. The tech
    Read More

Highlighted Content