Skip to main content

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
February 10, 2017 Read time: 1 min
609 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. OppCharge is now being implemented as a common interface in more than 12 countries.

The Volvo 7900 electric hybrid bus operates quietly and exhaust emission-free on electricity for about 70 per cent of its route. Battery recharging takes three to four minutes via OppCharge opportunity charging, which uses a specialist overhead mast connected to the bus via a pantograph.

Related Content

  • April 26, 2018
    Canadian government invests in electric bus infrastructure
    The government of Canada will invest CAN$1.2m into the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority’s (TransLink’s) demonstration project to install overhead charging stations for electric buses in Vancouver. The funding follows a commitment to support initiatives that provide citizens with more options for environmentally-friendly driving. Bus manufacturers New Flyer Industries and Nova Bus will develop the electric transit buses while ABB and Siemens will develop the chargers. These companies
  • July 29, 2015
    Rapid progress with pure electric buses
    China is where most of the hybrid and pure electric buses will be made and sold over the coming decade, as discussed in the report by IDTechEx Research, Electric Buses 2015-2025. Given the concentration of government support on long pure electric range from hybrids and the far simpler pure electric buses, the latter are proving very popular. Indeed articulated and double decker buses are available in pure electric form in China. According to the latest statistics from the Chinese bus industry, the total
  • July 17, 2012
    Charging station infrastructure boost to electric vehicle use
    The first section of a planned network of stations for charging electric vehicles – the West Coast Electric Highway – opened in March, promising a welcome boost to the environment and economy of Oregon. Pete Goldin reports What should come first, the electric vehicle or the charging station? This dilemma has been hindering proliferation of ‘EVs’ in the US for years. Without a widespread and reliable infrastructure of charging stations, the American public is not likely to adopt EVs en masse. This may all b
  • January 12, 2018
    Volvo and NTU to bring autonomous electric buses to Singapore
    Volvo Buses and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have partnered on a two-year research and development program for autonomous electric 12-metre buses as part of the Land Transport authority's drive to create new solutions for sustainable transport. The buses will arrive at the start of 2019.