Hitachi ABB partners Ashok Leyland launches Fleet EV charging system

Hitachi ABB Power Grids launched its Grid-eMotion Fleet EV charging system for large scale public transports and commercial fleets. It is planning to bring technology to India with the partnership of Ashok Leyland. Ashok Leyland earlier this year has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ABB to develop a pilot electric bus based on the latter’s flash-charge technology, Grid-eMotion Flash solution, commonly known as TOSA.

Fleet EV charging system

This new EV charging system for fleet vehicles comes under the same umbrella brand Grid-eMotion.The Grid eMotion fleet is a grid to plug the EV charging system. It is particularly designed for large scale public transport and commercial fleets like electric buses.

Andre Burdet, Product Management and Marketing Manager, Hitachi ABB Power Grids said, “We have already signed an MoU with Ashok Leyland in India for a pilot project where we are supplying our Grid-eMotion Flash solution for their buses, and we also plan to implement our Grid-eMotion Fleet solution as part of the agreement.”

He further added, “As part of this introduction, we are talking with various parties in India about the opportunity to implement the solution.”

This system makes use of DC technology and can be connected to any type of power network which means fleet owners dont have to worry about the complexities of integrating AC-DC chargers into a system. Currently, the company has a 1-Megawatt (1000 kW) system installed in Milan, Italy, and several other projects are currently under development in several other countries.

Electric vehicles fleet management, opportunities & top EV fleets in India

Grid-eMotion offers 60 per cent space reduction and 40 per cent less cabling. A 1.5 MW (1500 kW) Grid-eMotion EV charging system can be stored in a 20-feet container. It is best suitable for the urban areas for a large depot for electric buses with a charging station.

Burdet said, “Compared to other countries, India is a few years behind in terms of adoption, infrastructure and regulations. However, the Government (of India) has taken various measures to boost the domestic manufacturing segment. Schemes such as FAME and 100 per cent FDI to e-bus manufacturers provide great incentives to lower the costs of electric buses to make it more affordable and facilitate their adoption in the country.”

The government of India plans to have 5000 electric buses in India by 2022 under the FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles) scheme. There are also some other OEMs who have announced their plan to set up EV infrastructure in India.

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