The contract was first announced in March (see link below) and, now operational, it makes Birmingham the first UK airport to offer a fully electric landside bus service.
The vehicles will be recharged during service using the OppCharge opportunity charging pantograph system, installed outside the terminal, which takes up to six minutes.
The buses can also be charged by two 100kW CCS combo 2 chargers located at the coach park, giving added flexibility and making them the first vehicles capable of this dual-purpose charging, according to Volvo.
“This is the first project of its type for the UK, with Volvo supplying a turnkey solution delivering the infrastructure and civils in addition to the vehicles,” says Nick Page, managing director of Volvo Bus UK & Ireland.
Volvo’s 7900e was first introduced in mainland Europe in 2015 and eight are in operation in Harrogate.
