Göteborg Energi will install two ultra-fast Opbrid Bůsbaar charging stations in Gothenburg, Sweden which will charge 3 Volvo plug-in hybrid buses in the HyperBus project: http://www.hyperbus.se . The new plug-in hybrid from Volvo Buses is a further development of the Volvo 7900 Hybrid already available on the market. This new Volvo bus requires only a short recharging time of 5 to 8 minutes to enable it to run on battery power alone for most of its route. The Opbrid Bůsbaar installed at each end of the #60 bus route provides enough electricity to deliver 60% overall fuel savings, with zero emissions and silent operation in the city center.

Gothenburg, Sweden (PRWEB) July 03, 2012

Today, Göteborg Energi, the electricity provider for the City of Gothenburg, awarded a contract to Opbrid SL (Granada, Spain) to provide two Opbrid Bůsbaar ultra-fast bus charging stations for the HyperBus demonstration project in Gothenburg City. This project will consist of three new Volvo plug-in hybrid buses running in traffic and charging for 5-8 minutes at each end of the #60 bus line.

The HyperBus project is funded partly by the EU Life+ Innovation program, as well as with contributions from Business Region Göteborg, Göteborg Energi, City of Göteborg Traffic & Public Transport Authority, Volvo Buses and the public transport company Västtrafik.

These new Volvo plug-in hybrid buses have great advantages. Energy consumption will be reduced by 60 percent and emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by a huge 75 percent compared to conventional diesel buses. And because the plug-in hybrid runs on battery power for the major part of its route, it is much quieter than any comparable public transportation system.

“Our being able to drastically reduce exhaust fumes and noise is important for everyone who lives, works and plays here." says Birgitta Hellgren, Traffic Director, City of Gothenburg Traffic & Public Transport Authority.
“We will buy the electricity for the buses from local wind farms as we want to establish a clear connection between renewable energy and electric vehicles right from the beginning," says Göran Dalman, pro tem CEO at Göteborg Energi.“

This plug-In hybrid is based on the existing Volvo 7900 hybrid bus design, but with the addition of a larger, energy optimized battery and the ability to connect to the Opbrid Bůsbaar ultra-fast charging station. It combines the no-emission benefits of an electric bus with the reliability of a diesel bus. The Opbrid Bůsbaar charging station is located at each end of the bus route and fast charges the bus for a few minutes at the end of each trip. This extends the all-electric range of the hybrid bus to a predicted 75% or more of the route. And, since this is a hybrid bus that can also run on diesel, the bus can continue in case of brown-outs, traffic jams, or even fill-in on a route without chargers.

The Hyper Bus project began on September 1, 2011 and will run until 2014. It can be divided into four sub-areas: demonstration of plug-in technology for hybrid buses, rapid-charge stations, tests in real city environments on existing bus routes and the publication of results and experiences from the project.

The plug-in hybrid buses will use electricity as their primary power source and diesel for supplementary power. Plug-in technology allows the buses to be charged with external power using the Opbrid Bůsbaar ultra-fast charging station.

The World's first fast charged hybrid buses are now in public service in Umea, Sweden. The Arctic Whisper's hybrid bus batteries are fast charged by the Opbrid Bůsbaar for 10 minutes at the end of its route to achieve nearly 100% all-electric operation but with the reliability of diesel.

Umeå, Sweden (PRWEB) November 26, 2011

Today, Hybricon AB and Umeå Municipality took the next step in the development of the Arctic Whisper super fast rechargeable hybrid electric buses. A bus has been placed in service running on Umeå's busiest line. The first public installation of the Opbrid Bůsbaar charging station was inaugurated with a ribbon cutting by Umea Municipality representatives. The Arctic Whisper is the first in a fleet of affordable, sustainable, low carbon urban buses for Umea City.

The development of Umeå's super fast rechargeable electric buses began December 13, 2010 when the municipality of Umea decided to invest in an early development stage project with Hybricon AB (Sweden), E-Traction NV (Holland) and Opbrid SL (Spain). This included the development of a charging station and two super-fast rechargeable electric hybrid buses. The first bus was delivered in only 6 weeks for initial winter testing. The charging system went live in mid-summer, and today, just 11 months after the project commenced, public operation has begun with line 1 from Umedalen to the center of town

Hybricon's Arctic Whisper system for electrically powered city bus service has attracted a great deal of attention in the bus world. In early October, the industry confirmed Umea Municipality's investment in electric city buses when Hybricon won the prestigious Elmia Future Transport Award for the project. Now, there are a range of stakeholders in line to get started with the electrification of their bus lines in many other cities around Sweden.

Hybricon achieved this incredibly rapid progress from concept to public service by mating the Opbrid Bůsbaar fast charging station to two existing e-Traction hybrid buses, and adding additional lithium batteries for fast charging. This relatively simple process converted these hybrid buses to 100% electrical operation with the reliability of the on-board hybrid diesel backup generator. If there are ever issues due to traffic, weather, or a blackout, the bus can always revert to hybrid mode and continue on diesel temporarily.

Hybricons’ Arctic Whisper Advantages:

Electric power gives very low operating costs compared to diesel, 15 SEK vs 55 SEK for 10 km
No fossil fuel burning
No harmful emissions
No CO2 since Swedish electricity is essentially carbon free
No engine noise
Small infrastructure; An easily installed, ultra fast, automatic battery charging station at the end of the route
Diesel or biofuel backup generator for reliability in all conditions
e-Traction wheel motors with only two moving parts
Relatively small batteries for low weight and more room inside the bus

The Bůsbaar charging station from the Spanish company Opbrid SL has been installed at the end of the line in Umedalen. Each time the bus reaches the end of the line, it stops under the Bůsbaar, charges for a few minutes, and then resumes running using only electricity. The driver never has to get out, which is very important in Northern Sweden during the winter!

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