ABB wins first order for 15-sec flash charging tech used in electric vehicle

ABB Group has been awarded orders totalling more than $ 16 million by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG), Geneva’s public transport operator, and Swiss bus manufacturer HESS, to provide flash charging and on-board electric vehicle technology for 12 TOSA (Trolleybus Optimisation Systeme Alimentation) fully electric buses (e-buses) which will run on Line 23, connecting Geneva’s airport with suburban Geneva. The e-buses can help save as much as 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, when compared with existing diesel buses.
 
The 15-second flash charging technology developed by ABB, has the potential to transform urban public transport and will be relevant to countries such as India which are trying to balance infrastructure growth with sustainability. India currently operates on slow charging platforms but for buses and in order to expand infrastructure for electric vehicles, fast charging is a must.
   
As part of the TOSA project in Geneva, ABB will deliver and deploy 13 flash-charging stations along an urban transit bus route, as well as three terminal and four depot feeding stations. This will be the world’s fastest flash-charging connection technology taking less than 1 second to connect the bus to the charging point. The onboard batteries can then be charged in 15 seconds with a 600-kilowatt boost of power at the bus stop. A further 4 to 5 minute charge at the terminus at the end of the line enables a full recharge of the batteries. The innovative technology was developed by ABB engineers in Switzerland.
 
The innovative first of its kind flash charging technology developed by ABB provides a model for future urban transport and reinforces its vision of sustainable mobility for a better world. Dr Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO, ABB had reiterated the company’s commitment to work on the latest technology in EV charging when he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India in April and also in Switzerland last month. Electric mobility has been a key agenda driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the National electric Mobility Mission 2020 and the FAME program (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India ) and ABB’s revolutionary flash charging technology has significant potential as India draws up a plan to become a 100 percent electric vehicle country by 2030.