ABB and Nova Bus announce collaboration on electric transportation

ABB and Nova Bus have partnered to meet what they see as the “growing need for electric buses and charging infrastructure in North America”

ABB, an engineering company specializing in automotive energy technologies, and Nova Bus, the North American buses manufacturer and division of Volvo Buses, have entered a business collaboration that consists of the delivery of the first ABB’s electric bus “opportunity charger” in North America.

This is the latest development in ABB’s growing network of electric charging infrastructure.

This collaboration reflects Nova Bus plans to keep investing in climate action by offering charging stations and electrified bus solutions to major cities in the United States and Canada.

Derek Monk, general manager, ABB in Canada, says: “Transportation can be one of the biggest contributors to climate change. Supporting Nova Bus with ABB’s innovative charging solution will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Volvo Buses, it represents a major step in the advancement of electric buses in public transit in North America and it will be the first ABB electric bus opportunity charging station in the Americas.” 

ABB already has opportunity charging systems for e-buses in operation in Europe and to now include North America as reference for the DC fast charger is a defining moment.

The order from Nova Bus comprises one complete 300 kW modular common interface charging system with inverted pantograph technology and commissioning from the new ABB Campus in Montréal.

The ABB DC fast charger, with the associated systems, is based on the common interface, which allows charging stations and electrified buses from different manufacturers to be used together and only takes three to four minutes to charge the batteries at the charging station. Electric bus systems based on the OppCharge interface is being implemented in more than 12 countries.

Ralph Acs, senior vice-president region Americas for Volvo Buses and president of Nova Bus, says: “We are very pleased to collaborate with ABB, an international leader in the fields of energy and automation.

“The acquisition of this new technology at our Plattsburgh assembly facility is part of our vision for the electrification of transportation and sustainable mobility.

“Ultimately, our goal is to always provide our US based customers the most reliable sustainable transit buses in the industry.”

Daniel Simounet, vice-president of transportation sector, ABB Americas, says: “This sign of confidence from Nova Bus is reinforcing ABB’s commitment to sustainable mobility and is fully aligned with our recent announcement to establish our North American Center for excellence for e-mobility in the new ABB Campus in Montréal.

“We are now looking at widespread innovation in cooperation with local and regional partners in order to accelerate the deployment of energy efficient electrification infrastructure for electrical cars, buses and trains.”

The demo e-bus and charging infrastructure from Nova Bus is scheduled to travel across the US in the Fall of 2017 and encourage transit authorities to jump on board. The companies say they are “contributing to the electrification of urban transit”.

Since 2010, ABB has sold approximately 5,000 fast chargers around the world for passenger cars and electric buses. Utilization of technology that comprises cloud-based remote monitoring and control as well as program upgrades via the Internet “guarantees quick response times and a high degree of availability”, according to the companies.