The German city of Cologne plans to deploy eight electric bendy buses on an all-electric bus route, one of the first in Germany. The 18-meter e-buses will be manufactured by VDL Bus & Coach, with battery systems produced by AKASOL GmbH in Darmstadt.

The electric buses will go into service on Cologne’s route 133, a 7-kilometer route with 13 stops, in December 2016. Transit authority KVB intends to invest €6 million in the buses, and estimates that they will reduce CO₂ emissions by some 520 tons per year.

AKASOL’s AKASYSTEM lithium-ion battery system boasts a charging capacity of more than 300 kW and a useable energy content of over 100 kWh.

The liquid-cooled AKASYSTEM batteries will receive a 250 kW charge at each terminal, via a roof-mounted pantograph, a process that takes five to ten minutes. The batteries are then fully charged at the depot overnight. Partially charging en route allows the batteries to be smaller, reducing vehicle weight.

“With 7,000 full cycles and millions of partial cycles, our battery systems provide the operator with high level of investment security and, due to their long service life, the best results in terms of the total cost of ownership,” AKASOL Managing Director Felix von Borck explains.

Source: AKASOL