Heliox partners with Daimler in Jena, Germany

Challenge

The city of Jena already has trams operating in the city and together with Jenaer Nahverkehr GmbH, is keen to further develop and expand the electrification of its public transport systems.

Three e-buses, supplied by Daimler, would run from Westbahnhof via the city center to Rautal. Charging services needed to be tailored to the route, taking the stops and the number of passengers into account. Heliox offered a solution to equip e-buses with an Automatic Contact Device.

Solution

To enable overnight charging, three CSS charging stations and one charging station with contact hood were installed at the Burgau depot. This ensures that fully charged buses can provide an uninterrupted and efficient bus service. An additional fast-charging point (via a contact hood) was installed on route at the Westbahnhof to enable quick and efficient charging during regular service. This roof-mounted pantograph guarantees all-day service, keeping buses on the road with no need to schedule return trips to the depot for charging.

Results

Jena’s first three electrically powered city buses started service in January 2020. The city views the introduction of e-buses as an important step in promoting climate-friendly e-mobility that is affordable and available to everyone. The ambition is to convert the entire bus fleet in the long term, as well as expanding its electric tram fleet, shows that cities are making big moves in their transition to cleaner, greener public transport.

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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.

The city of Jena already has trams operating in the city and together with Jenaer Nahverkehr GmbH, is keen to further develop and expand the electrification of its public transport systems.