Due to go into service in November 2019, the six 7900e will be recharged during operation using the OppCharge opportunity charging pantograph system, developed by Volvo and ABB. Charging takes up to six minutes, enabling continuous 24/7 operation without the vehicles needing to return to the depot.
Two pantographs will be installed outside the airport terminal; others will be installed around the site if the services are expanded. In addition, plug-in charging points will also be available in the coach park. In the future, these charging points will be made available to other bus operators.
The buses will operate on all car park routes, including the 7.5km route to the car park at Elmdon.
Nick Barton, CEO at Birmingham Airport, says the deal is “a key milestone”, adding: “We have made significant customer service improvements across the airport to increase capacity and improve passenger experience, with the vision of positioning Birmingham as Europe’s leading airport. The electric buses form part of this vision, not to mention their sustainability benefits being ultra-low emission.
“Since 2012 the airport has reduced its CO2 by 20% per passenger. Implementing the six electric buses will work towards lowering our CO2 per passenger even further, which is just fantastic.”
The 7900e has been involved in several trials around the UK, including Greater Manchester, Cardiff, Liverpool and Heathrow Airport. A fleet of eight buses of the same specification have recently gone into service in Harrogate, all using the same OppCharge pantograph technology
First introduced in mainland Europe in 2015, the Volvo 7900e provides up to 80% lower energy consumption than an equivalent sized diesel bus. It is a two-axle bus with electric motor and four high-capacity 50 kWh nickel manganese cobalt batteries and offers zero tailpipe emissions.