This article first appeared in the Bus-News magazine, Issue 1 2023.
Cities and municipalities around the world are working hard to reduce noise and air pollution caused primarily by daily traffic.
Schunk has decades of experience in the field of electric mobility and emission-free alternative drives. More than 150 cities in 35 countries are already benefiting from this. They rely on the durable, flexible and economical Schunk Smart Charging systems for their electric buses. These enable automated, reliable and safe charging of the batteries. Among other things, 100 electric buses connect Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with the surrounding area. The buses cover ~30,000km every day – completely emission-free. The Schunk charging pantographs are mounted on the roof of the buses or alternatively on the charging station as inverted pantographs.
There is now a new model of Depot Charger. It enables vehicles of different heights to be docked at the depot in mere seconds. E-buses with Schunk Smart Charging pantographs are in operation in over 35 countries. In the beginning only individual buses were equipped in projects. Today the company supplies the key technology for fleets of up to 200 buses. Customers trust the experience Schunk has gathered in over 150 international projects – from Seattle to Krakow to Tokyo.
Product Manager Timo Staubach explains where electromobility stands today and what he expects for the near future.
Question: Mr Staubach, Schunk has been offering sophisticated electric bus charging technologies since 2014. The industry is currently working with two different charging concepts: opportunity charging on the route and depot charging. How do they differ?
Timo Staubach: ‘Opportunity charging’ takes place at strategically selected bus stops. Here, the roofmounted pantograph makes contact with a docking station installed at the bus stop. The advantage is that a comparatively smaller vehicle battery can be used because only a relatively small amount of energy needs to be stored – just enough for the next hours of operation. This method is particularly well suited for cities with bus lines that have extensive operating ranges. Overnight charging, or depot charging, takes place after operating hours, in the vehicle depot. The significantly larger batteries with their correspondingly higher charging capacities require more space and can easily add a few tons of additional weight to the vehicle, depending on the operating range requirements. This also means less space on the bus for passengers. For smaller municipalities with less extensive operating ranges, this can, however, be a practicable solution.
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