Endesa X will install two new ultra-fast pantograph charging devices for electric buses on the H16 line in Barcelona, linking the Forum with Zona Franca. The objective is to guarantee that the 22 TMB buses currently circulating on this metropolitan line are kept charged up to deliver excellent service to the bus users.
Today, the H16 line is already equipped with an electric charging station at both ends of the line (Zona Franca-Cisell and UPC-Campus Diagonal Besòs). These were also installed by Endesa three years ago and were pioneers not only in Spain but in the whole of Europe. With the two new pantographs - also installed at the beginning and end of the 12-kilometre route - the charging infrastructure is set to increase at the same pace as the line's expansion, which has evolved from 20 standard units back in 2014 when the current bus route was launched to the 22 articulated vehicles now.
The ultra-fast pantograph charging system has two parts: the charger, a pillar approximately five metres high, like a lamppost, which is installed at the beginning and end of the line to take advantage of the times when buses are stopped to not interfere with the route's timetables; and the pantograph, a kind of retractable mechanical arm on the roof of the bus, which lifts and attaches to the charger to begin charging.
Pantographs are ultra-fast systems (500 kW of power) that charge 80% of battery capacity in an estimated five to eight minutes. That is enough charge to undertake the journey again. A complete route normally requires between 40% and 80% of the battery, depending on the conditions.
At night, as the buses have been parked in the garage, the vehicles recover 100% of their battery power in three or four hours, and they begin the next day with their batteries fully charged. Endesa has installed seven fast-charging points (50kW) in TMB's garages to complement the bus charging, taking advantage of the night time pause in their timetables.
The H16 metropolitan bus line links the Barcelona Forum with Zona Franca, drawing a line parallel to the sea passing through Poblenou, the Olympic Village, Plaça de Catalunya, and Plaça d'Espanya, a total length of about 12 kilometres
