Now, Jönköpings Länstrafik is making a proper investment in all four inner-city lines. In total, there will be about 45 electric buses that will be charged at the bus stops by ten 450 kW pantograph chargers.
To contribute to meeting the country's environmental goals, Jönköpings Länstrafik in the south of Sweden chose to invest in fossil-free transport and called upon the expertise of Jönköping Energi to develop the bus station’s charging service, ABB to deliver the charging infrastructure, and Elektroskandia to deliver the electricity distribution cabinets for each station.
More and more municipalities around the country are switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy in public transport. One of Jönköping’s goals is to switch from fossil to renewable energy, and the key to fulfilling that goal is maximizing the use of a sustainable public transport system. ABB has for many years invested in solutions for electric charging infrastructures and has helped to set up bus charging stations in Skellefteå, Östersund, Värnamo, Gothenburg, and now Jönköping.
Jönköping Energi is Project Manager Peter Lerge, said about the project, “Today we have biogas buses on our inner-city lines, and diesel buses on the suburban lines. As we now switch to electric buses on the inner-city lines, we can completely abolish the diesel buses and thereby get an emission reduction of approximately 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. In addition, we get a quieter and calmer urban environment.” He continued, "This is a bit of unbroken ground and we have learned during this journey. Everything has worked well so far and there is now an option for another line of electric power in Jönköping. It is likely that we will probably completely switch to electric buses in the future. It must be the right way to go.
Now, Jönköpings Länstrafik is making a proper investment in all four inner-city lines. In total, there will be about 45 electric buses that will be charged at the bus stops by ten 450 kW pantograph chargers.
Field Sales Manager at Elektroskandia Jan Franzén stated, “Jönköping Energi has a material agreement with Elektroskandia, and they therefore contacted me with a request to develop electricity distribution cabinets for the bus chargers. I received their drawings and requirements for the equipment and then contacted our supplier ABB Switches & Fusegear Unit. These are large custom-made cabinets, an ordinary cable cabinet may be 80 cm wide, while these are three meters wide.” He continued, “It is gratifying for Elektroskandia to be involved in such a groundbreaking environmental project. We hope that more municipalities will now go the same way and invest in fossil-free transport in the future.”
Elektroskandia delivered the electricity distribution cabinets to ABB's subcontractor Laddalliansen, who installed filters in the cabinets before installation. Charging the buses only takes between seven to ten minutes and can be done while passengers are getting on or off the bus. In addition, the buses will be charged in the depot during the night.
ABB Electrification in Sweden Project Manager Björn Johansson explained, “We have delivered the bus chargers, each of which consists of three power cabinets of 150 kW each and the pole with the pantograph, which goes down on the bus fence and charges. We also take care of installation and commissioning and service of the facilities.” He continued, “We have had a good collaboration with everyone involved, the project has gone as planned and now during the month of May we expect that all charging stations will be in operation.”
About Elektroskandia Sverige
Elektroskandia Sverige has been operating as an electrical wholesaler in Sweden since 1904. They market and sell electrical equipment and systems in the fields of power/automation, tele/data/security, lighting, domestic appliances and industrial necessities. They employ approximately 830 people at 48 locations all over Sweden.