July 21, 2014 – ABB has partnered with Volvo Buses to co-develop and commercialize electric and hybrid buses with open standards-based direct current (DC) fast-charging systems.

The cooperation creates a city-wide standardized charging system for electric and electric hybrid buses that can charge buses quickly through an automatic roof-top connection system at bus stops or through cabled charging systems overnight.

This approach enables maximum reuse of existing e-mobility technologies, says ABB, thereby ensuring a “rapid deployment of urban e-mobility” (download the Infographic below). The partnership focuses entirely on the standardization of automatic e-bus fast charging, including the communications protocol between the infrastructure charging solution and e-bus, the electrical interface and specifications for the rooftop automatic connection system (ACS).