Heliox to provide infrastructure for Hamburg’s ‘Master plan for E-buses’
Dutch Heliox who specialises in fast-charging for electric buses is the new partner for Hochbahn, Hamburg’s public transport provider. The latter is in the midst of the execution of what Hochbahn calls their “Masterplan for E-buses”.
The strategy will see Hochbahn purchasing nothing but electric buses from 2020 and that also entails setting up the operative and infrastructure prerequisites. Heliox has been chosen to for the latter job in the hanseatic in Germany’s north.
The Dutch company aims to realise the first step of the project by June 1, 2018. This means they have to deliver and set up eight overnight DC chargers capable to deliver 150 kW via CCS. More are to be expected at a later date.
For now, Heliox will charge the first 30 electric buses of a total of 250 electric buses that Hochbahn will tender in the coming years. Commenting on the collaboration, Bastian Schmidt, project manager from Hochbahn said they would “look forward to the cooperation as well as the further development of the individual systems together with Heliox and our partner companies of the automotive industry.”
Hochbahn aims to electrify its entire fleet of 1,000 buses eventually and has formed a buying community with Berlin in 2016 that other cities are still asked to join. The German capital too is switching to electric buses reportedly, urged to do so by the local government. Ramona Pop, who chairs the BVG Board and is Berlin’s Senator responsible for Economy, Energy and Enterprises, expressed hopes that “manufacturers would recognise the sign of the times in order to offer production series vehicles at conditions in line with the market.” BVG has earmarked an undisclosed investment in the double-digit millions.
Back in Hamburg, the town has been advancing in green city initiatives fast. The ‘e-Drive Hamburg‘ project for example is in its second year. This time round, Volkswagen delivered 50 e-Golf with a special leasing offer. Additionally, both Volkswagen and Hochbahn together are working on introducing a ridesharing service called MOIA in Hamburg by the end of the year. Part of the project is an app-based on-demand electric shuttle service that allows people heading in the same direction to connect.
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