Charleroi and Namur order 90 electric hybrid buses and 12 charging stations

(Credit: Volvo Buses)

The Belgian cities of Charleroi and Namur are to receive 90 Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid buses and 12 ABB charging stations as part of a complete solutions contract with Volvo Buses.

55 electric hybrid buses for Charleroi and 35 for Namur

According to Volvo Buses, TEC Group ordered 55 buses for Charleroi and another 35 buses for Namur. ABB will supply 4 OppCharge (Opportunity Charging) stations to Charleroi and 8 stations for Namur. Delivery and installation will get under way in autumn 2017.

OppCharge charging infrastructure (Credit: Volvo Buses)

Volvo Buses President Håkan Agnevall commented on the order: “This is extremely gratifying! The order is a new milestone in our electromobility drive and confirms the competitiveness of our offer. We can see that more and more of the world’s cities are choosing electrified city bus traffic in order to deal with poor air quality and noise. The common interface for fast charging of buses and trucks, OppCharge, is gaining ground. The use by many suppliers of a common interface will facilitate the transition to electromobility in the world’s cities.”

90 percent of Namur’s public transport will be electrified

TEC Group previously ordered 11 Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrids along with charging stations for Namur, a system that became operational in January this year. Once the 35 new buses take to the roads, 90 percent of Namur’s public transport will be electrified.

Vincent Peremans, CEO TEC Group, said: “As public transport company, the TEC Group is very proud to be a leader in the increase of the energy efficiency of its fleet. This strategic investment will participate in the improvement of the quality of life in the main city centres, and will allow the Walloon Region to achieve its environmental goals. The hybrid technology is the best compromise between the operational constraints and the energy efficiency for urban buses today.”

The Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid operates on electricity for about 70 percent of its route. Battery recharging takes 3 to 4 minutes with so called opportunity charging. Energy consumption is about 60 percent lower than for a corresponding diesel bus.