Lübeck's eMobility journey: Powered by waste heat & smart charging

Customer Case Study

Lübeck's eMobility journey: Powered by waste heat & smart charging

50 Buses
6 MW
Lübeck, Germany

©VOR-J. Bollwein, 2022.

Challenge

Stadtwerke Lübeck Mobil has set a goal of electrifying 70% of its bus fleet by 2030. To reach this target, 50 fully electric solo and articulated buses will be purchased by mid-2023, which will mainly be charged at night during breaks in operation. The charging infrastructure in the existing depot will be expanded by 40 charging points for this purpose.

Solution

The charging system consists of 40 Flex 180 kW power units and 42 CCS2 depot boxes. The depot boxes were mounted at a height of approx. 2.5 m on a crossbeam made of BÜTEC elements to take account of the limited space in the hall. The charging cables are attached to the depot boxes and hang up to approx. 50 cm above the hall floor. This makes it easier for the operators to plug in the charging plugs. The emergency stop switch, which is positioned close to the charging point, provides additional safety.

In order to use the waste heat from the power units efficiently, an exhaust air system was installed, as the waste heat can be directed into the garage or discharged via the roof. Up to 12 power units were installed back-to-back and connected to the waste heat system - consisting of an exhaust air duct, ventilation flaps, fans and temperature sensors. Depending on the temperature, the garage can be heated, or the heat can be directed away.

Together with Stausberg & Vosding, a charging and load management system was implemented, which visualizes the chargers and controls the output power at the low voltage. It also serves as an interface for Value Added Service in accordance with VDV 261.

The charging infrastructure was set up during ongoing bus operation.

Results

Stadtwerke Lübeck Mobil runs its electric buses on green electricity. The monthly energy requirement of an electric bus is around 10 MWh. From 2023, this will save around 2,000 tons of CO2 and 20 tons of t NOx per year compared to 2019.

Download our electric truck report
Project Description

Heliox and TU/e ​​aim to develop an integrated solution that makes charging heavy electric vehicles accessible without negative consequences for local electricity networks. Together, we want to achieve this by developing and demonstrating a new, multiple and dynamic charging system for heavy electric vehicles that is equipped with software-controlled stabilization to absorb disturbances on the local energy grid.

The intended system will consist of a dynamically configurable charging system based on modules that can be connected in parallel, each with three 60 kW outputs. With this they want to be able to distribute the loading capacity dynamically over several vehicles. The charging system can therefore be used for opportunity charging up to 360 kW for a single vehicle as well as for regular charging of several vehicles.

In addition, smart software and a microcontroller board are being developed. The converter of the charging system can be used via this software to compensate for grid disturbances. The disturbances are neutralized via a low impedance path. This allows losses on the grid to be converted into usable energy, while improving the voltage quality of the grid. In fact, the system completely takes over the function of current power filters on the basis of smart control.

Stadtwerke Lübeck Mobil has set a goal of electrifying 70% of its bus fleet by 2030. To reach this target, 50 fully electric solo and articulated buses will be purchased by mid-2023, which will mainly be charged at night during breaks in operation. The charging infrastructure in the existing depot will be expanded by 40 charging points for this purpose.

The charging system consists of 40 Flex 180 kW power units and 42 CCS2 depot boxes. The depot boxes were mounted at a height of approx. 2.5 m on a crossbeam made of BÜTEC elements to take account of the limited space in the hall. The charging cables are attached to the depot boxes and hang up to approx. 50 cm above the hall floor. This makes it easier for the operators to plug in the charging plugs. The emergency stop switch, which is positioned close to the charging point, provides additional safety.

In order to use the waste heat from the power units efficiently, an exhaust air system was installed, as the waste heat can be directed into the garage or discharged via the roof. Up to 12 power units were installed back-to-back and connected to the waste heat system - consisting of an exhaust air duct, ventilation flaps, fans and temperature sensors. Depending on the temperature, the garage can be heated, or the heat can be directed away.

Together with Stausberg & Vosding, a charging and load management system was implemented, which visualizes the chargers and controls the output power at the low voltage. It also serves as an interface for Value Added Service in accordance with VDV 261.

The charging infrastructure was set up during ongoing bus operation.

Stadtwerke Lübeck Mobil runs its electric buses on green electricity. The monthly energy requirement of an electric bus is around 10 MWh. From 2023, this will save around 2,000 tons of CO2 and 20 tons of t NOx per year compared to 2019.

Download our electric truck report