Ashok Leyland to use ABB’s flash-charging technology in its electric buses

Truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland and ABB Power Products and Systems India Ltd have signed an agreement for development former’s new electric buses using latter’s fastest flash-charging technology to advance urban mobility while cutting down carbon emissions.

The pact is to develop a pilot electric bus based on ABB’s flash-charge technology, Tosa, which tops up the battery in just seconds while passengers get on and off the bus. This avoids the need to take the vehicle out of service for recharging every few hours or having a replacement bus ready, thus minimising the size of the fleet while increasing passenger carrying capacity, according to a statement.

“The aim is to provide a zero local emission mass public transportation bus system with high passenger capacity. We are pleased to be working with Ashok Leyland in advancing responsible urban mobility,” said N Venu, Managing Director, ABB Power Products and Systems India, which represents ABB Power Grids’ business in India.

Tosa is claimed to be the fastest flash-charging connection technology that lets cities reduce the environmental pollution of their transit systems without affecting passenger capacity or journey times. At selected passenger stops, its system connects the bus to the charging infrastructure, and in a mere 15 seconds the batteries are charged with a 600-kilowatt power boost. An additional few minutes charge at the final terminal enables a full recharge without interrupting the bus schedule.

“To stay competitive in our domestic and global markets, we are joining hands with ABB to use their world-renowned Tosa technology on our e-buses to take forward our vision of expanding in the EV space,” N Saravanan, Chief Technology Officer, Ashok Leyland.

TOSA fast-charging can save as much as 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide on a line covering 600,000 km per year. It also offers operating cost savings of 30 per cent compared to an equivalent diesel-transit system, the statement added.

ABB is also providing its software solution for asset optimisation, as well as its other system to monitor and control the power network for charging stations and e-buses.

On its part, Ashok Leyland will be providing vehicle, energy and EV-related technical information using its iAlert Platform. This will further optimise maintenance processes, enable a fast response to fault incidents and better predict maintenance and performance needs. The overall solutions are equipped with remote access and ‘cloud’ capabilities and is scalable to meet future needs