The Arctic Whisper hybrid bus was awarded the 2011 Future Transport Award at the recently concluded Elmia Future Transport Fair in Sweden. This biannual conference sponsored by Elmia Nordic Rail celebrates innovations in Swedish transportation technology that reduce environmental impacts. Jurors at the Elmia Future Transport Fair based their decision on the Arctic Whisper’s early performance in Umea trials along with the collaborative spirit among European manufacturers. The next step for the Arctic Whisper is a full presentation of trial results at the European Electric Vehicle Conference later this month in Brussels, Belgium.
Hybricon led a development group including Swedish government agencies and continental manufacturers to bring all-electric buses to Umea. This collaboration includes e-Traction BV from the Netherlands and Opbrid SL from Granada, Spain. The Umea City Corporation as well as Umea Energi AB opened their transit routes for vehicle testing and monitoring. Hybricon and e-Traction converted two Volvo 7700 buses for all-electric operation to determine the city’s infrastructure needs earlier this year. The Arctic Whisper began operation in Umea in April 2011 with day-to-day operations possible by early 2012.
The centerpiece of the Arctic Whisper is the Busbaar charging system developed by Opbrid. The Arctic Whisper uses lithium-ion batteries that are charged using a rooftop system that connects to Busbaar charging rails. A driver parks the bus underneath the Busbaar rails and the rooftop charger connects to these rails automatically. The Arctic Whisper can recharge fully within 10 minutes of connection, avoiding delays that undermine the public transit system. This system allows for 18 hours of all-electric operation before the diesel engine is engaged. Hybricon did not commit to an all-electric drive system in the Arctic Whisper to account for potential blackouts, severe weather and other fluctuations in driving conditions.
The Future Transport Award given to Hybricon and Opbrid shows that the vehicle charging market remains open to new ideas. The Opbrid Busbaar does not look like chargers currently making the rounds, opting for rooftop charging rather than an internal charging system. This inventive approach to vehicle charging requires an investment in the full Busbaar system including charging rails along their routes. The first generation of Opbrid Busbaar looks a bit clunky but the idea could work for transit systems that complete their charging within municipal depots.
