First Ultrafast-Charging Electric Buses Hit Ostrava

BUSINESS First Ultrafast-Charging Electric Buses Hit Ostrava Two ultrafast-charging electric buses that started operation in October 2018 now serve passengers travelling from Ostrava-Svinov to the Klimkovice Sanatorium. The vehicles were manufactured by Ekova Electric, which also provided the Public Transport Company of Ostrava (Dopravní podnik Ostrava) with a unique charging infrastructure in the method of opportunity charging, the first of its kind in the Czech Republic. The new charging station (including a charging stand with 450 kW capacity and 460-800V DC output) was built under the Svinov Bridge. The technologies were supplied by the Dutch company Heliox, one of the world leaders in fast charging systems in public transport. of the infrastructure of the station rather than the vehicles, minimizes the weight of the electric bus, allowing for a greater number of passengers. Low-floor buses Ekova Electron have a capacity of 86 passengers with two places for wheelchairs and/or strollers. Electric buses take only 300 seconds to recharge at the station and get ready for another hour of operation. This very short recharging time allows 24/7 operation all year long. Recharging is automatic, starting immediately upon arrival at the charging station when a pantograph of the charging stand sinks in the slots on top of the electric bus. The charging consoles, a fixed component “Opportunity charging is an open recharging system, which means that any vehicle by various companies may use the charging station in Ostrava as long as they comply with its parameters. Interoperability is supported by an increasing number of manufacturers of electric buses and charging stations,” says Jiří Martiník, COO of Ekova Electric. Text: Ludmila Kadrnková Foto: archiv Ekova Electric a.s. POSITIV ǀ 4/2018 17