The residents of the city of Ostrava in Czech Republic will soon ride on electric buses that are powered by charging infrastructure provided by Siemens.
The Ostrava Transit Authority has contracted Siemens to supply charging equipment for battery powered buses that will be provided by Solaris. At 24 buses, the order from Solaris is the largest for the country. The buses will carry 80 passengers each, cover about 400 km daily and need to charge fully in ten minutes.
The charging stations will be installed at the Hranecnik terminal and on Valcharska Street right in the city center. The former will get a Sicharge US rapid charger while three will go to the latter. The chargers will output up to 500 A DC at up to 1000 volts. Accessories will include security cameras. Since the chargers will charge any electric vehicle, the transit company has decided to make them self-servicing.
In addition, there will be 28 mobile chargers, each outputting 22.5 kW, for use as overnight or in-garage charging. Siemens expects to get them running by summer.
The company will do more than just supply hardware as it will setup software solution to monitor the chargers. The solution will transmit data to the transport authority’s facilities, where it will be used to plan and manage operations. It will also enable remote control of the chargers based on the schedules of the buses so as to optimize energy consumption.
As part of the contract, Siemens will also install two 1,250 kVA and one 800 kVA transformers, which will allow the stations to connect to the grid. Siemens will also manage the project and carry out preventive and corrective maintenance.
Daniel Morys, general director of Ostrava Transit Authority, says the city is keen on keeping its air cleaner and the environment safer. “The need for reliable, cost-efficient and zero-emission mass transportation in Ostrava is perhaps higher than in other Czech cities. Clean air is an essential indicator of the quality of life. Therefore, I believe that passengers will appreciate our efforts towards a cleaner Ostrava and support us in the further expansion of electromobility.”
We reported earlier how Siemens was promoting the spread of electric transportation in Africa.