EMT Madrid to install new automatic smart electric charging system

Credit: Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid

The Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid (EMT Madrid) has announced that it will carry out a project to install an automatic intelligent charging system using an inverted pantograph of a total of 20 electric buses at its Fuencarral Operations Center. The project will involve an investment of more than €4 million and is backed by up to 90 per cent financing from the European Union’s Next Generation funds.

Executed within 18 months, the project will be divided into two phases: a first term of 12 months to start up and test the solution in three electric buses and another six months to extend the system to the rest of the project fleet.

The electric charging automation system will allow vehicles to be charged without the intervention of an operator or waiting time by the driver at the beginning or end of their working day. Likewise, the system makes it possible for each bus to be charged in the shortest time possible, without compromising battery life and optimising the costs associated with operations and the power demanded from the network. All charging stations will be identical, with a power of up to 180kW.

EMT Madrid achieves electrification goals for 2022

In order to carry out this project, K9 model buses from the BYD manufacturer and also the ieBus model from the Irizar company will be used. This is to ensure that the charging solution is adapted to all manufacturers, regardless of the brand of vehicle or charger. Through this standardisation, the solution can be replicated in other operations centres of the municipal company.

Currently, with 19 100 per cent electric EMT lines, Madrid is the city in Spain with the most electrified routes and the second in Europe, behind Berlin. Electrification is a key aspect in the new EMT Strategic Plan. This roadmap, which will mark the direction of the organisation until 2025, ensures a historic investment by the Madrid City Council: more than €1,000 million to undertake a true technological transformation.