Fast chargers for electric bus fleet

Eight fast chargers from Heliox will power New Zealand’s first 10 electric double-deck buses.

Tranzit will operate the e-buses in Wellington in July.

They are the first double-deck buses here being charged via roof-mounted pantograph.

Heliox, a global market leader in fast charging electric buses, is providing the fast charging network featuring both depot and opportunity charging.

The network combines the CCS plug-in system for depot charging and a roof-mounted pantograph system in route.

The eight chargers comprise five DC 2x30kW twin chargers, two OC 450kW ultra-fast chargers and one DC 25kW mobile charger with a plug-in option for flexibility in the workshop.

Initially, it will cover nine bus routes across the Wellington region, with a single ticketing system expected to apply.

The first 10 e-buses will be followed by another 10 in 2020 and 12 more a year later.

The 82-seat double-deckers will be fully charged overnight at the depot using the twin chargers, while topping up their batteries during the day using the 450kW opportunity chargers at stations across the network.

This type of fast charging ensures maximum availability as the charging occurs in about two to five minutes while passengers board and disembark,

“The charging stations are very discreet and will be placed strategically on our routes for greater range around Wellington,” Tranzit Group transport and operations director Keven Snelgrove says.

He says Tranzit is the first Southern Hemisphere user to take up this type of fast charge technology.

Heliox says this project is a great example of the strength of open interfaces shown by the open source OCPP back-office communication of all chargers in the network combining data of both the infrastructure and the EV bus fleet.

It expects Wellington could eventually have 400 e-buses replacing its current fleet.