Volvo Buses to expand charging options in 2021
Volvo Buses has announced a further charging option for its electric buses for the coming year: starting in autumn 2021, the manufacturer will also offer a roof-mounted pantograph for its Volvo 7900 Electric.
The third charging option will be offered in both the 7900 Electric Solobus variant and the 7900 Electric Articulated articulated bus. So far, Volvo offers wired charging via CCS standard with Combo2 connector and charging with OppCharge.
With this standard (short for opportunity charging), the pantograph is mounted on the charging station and from there it lowers onto a pantograph rail on the roof of the vehicle. This is why this concept is also called “panto down”.
From autumn 2021, a “panto up” solution will also be offered, in which the pantograph is mounted on the vehicle roof and lifts from there to dock onto the infrastructure-side current collector. For the new solution, Volvo Buses will be relying on technology from Schunk.
While wired charging processes are only suitable for longer recharging in the depot (for example overnight) for the usually very large batteries in electric buses, the pantograph solutions can transfer higher charging capacities. They are therefore also suitable for quick interim charging at bus stops, but also as a convenient and wireless charging solution for depots.
“With a flexible range of alternatives for charging buses, we meet the varied demands and wishes of our customers and pave the way for quicker and easier transition to electrified bus traffic,” says Ulf Magnusson, SVP Business Unit Europe at Volvo Buses.
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