Electric buses recharge in 15 seconds

Geneva will add a dozen electric buses to its municipal service after awarding a contract to Switzerland-based ABB to set up a so-called “flash-charging” network.

The buses will be used for a route that connects Geneva’s airport with a new suburb called Praille-Acacias-Vernet, which will have about 11,000 residential units as well as offices housing about 11,000 workers.

The line is estimated to serve more than 10,000 passengers a day, and will include 13 “flash-charging” stations.

At each station, the bus will recharge for 15 seconds, and the 600-kilowatt blast (five times what the Tesla Superchargers deploy) will supply enough energy to get the bus to the next station.

At the end of the line, the buses, which will run approximately every 10 minutes, can be recharged in about five minutes via the flash chargers.

Once running, the project will cut carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 1000 tons per year compared to diesel buses.

In addition to building the charging network, ABB will supply roof-mounted battery units for energy storage. Take a look at ABB’s press release below.

ABB is the world’s largest maker of power-transmission gear. In 2013, the company won a contract from Fastned to build enough fast-charging stations to ensure that all Dutch citizens were within 50 kilometres (31 miles) of one.