The Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) is leading a pilot project in which at least 20 electric buses supplied by New Flyer and Nova Bus, along with 7 overhead chargers supplied by ABB and Siemens, will demonstrate the interoperability of the OppCharge protocol. The trial’s 18 consortium partners include manufacturers, utilities, transit agencies and research organizations.

OppCharge, which was jointly developed by Siemens and Volvo Bus, standardizes the design of the robotic off-board pantograph that connects the charging station to the bus, communications between the bus and the charger, and performance metrics of the overall system.

TransLink in Vancouver will deploy 4 e-buses and 2 overhead chargers on one of the region’s busiest transit routes in the second half of 2018. The Brampton and York Region in Ontario will deploy 16 e-buses and 5 overhead chargers.

“This milestone marks the first time competitive bus manufacturers and charging station manufacturers are designing and delivering interoperable charging systems to make electric transit planning easier for transit agencies,” said CUTRIC CEO Josipa Petrunic.

The National Research Council of Canada will lead the project management and data analytics aspects of the project. At least 10 graduate students at 5 universities will analyze rider and driver preferences, impacts on local electricity grids, and tools such as energy storage for overcoming demand charges.

Source: Mass Transit