Hitachi Energy announced it has deployed a centralized, multi-vehicle electric bus charging solution for RTC, the public transit agency in the greater Quebec City area.

The technology was selected to be tested as part of a pilot project in 2022 following a call for tender won by Hitachi Energy.

Hitachi Energy's Project

The three-year project represents an important step toward the ultimate electrification of the RTC’s entire bus fleet and infrastructure.

The pilot is also providing valuable data on the best strategies for charging large numbers of vehicles.

The technology selected for the pilot is Hitachi Energy’s Grid-eMotion Fleet solution, an integrated charging system that can deliver multi-megawatt level charging capabilities tailored to the demanding requirements of urban bus fleets.

The system requires 60% less space than conventional charging systems and a 40% decrease in required depot cabling. This grid-to-plug solution has been deployed in sustainable transport projects at notable bus systems, including London, UK, Västerås, Sweden, and Brisbane, Australia.

The project supports the Quebec provincial government's plan to electrify 55% of its urban buses and 65% of its school buses by 2030, a critical objective in Canada, where transportation accounts for about a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions.    

"Hitachi Energy is proud to support the RTC energy transition through our Grid-eMotion Fleet pilot deployment. This project offers a great opportunity to demonstrate how charging systems designed specifically for fleets can play a critical role in transitioning our urban transit systems to fully electric operations," said Alireza Aram, managing director, Grid Integration North America, Hitachi Energy. "This exciting project is enabling us to explore different approaches to EV fleet charging in a real-world environment, gathering data that can be applied with public transit agencies around the world."

Key Goal of the Project

One of the key goals of the project is to explore different fleet charging strategies in an active bus terminal, including traditional plugs, as well as overhead pantograph systems.

Typically, bus terminals in urban environments are space-constrained and were not designed for electric buses, which require compact, scalable, and space-saving systems.

Hitachi Energy’s Grid-eMotion Fleet technology can provide public transit agencies with the flexibility to address the needs of each facility.

Hitachi Energy’s solution has been tested at RTC’s Metrobus Center and is expected to run at full capacity in 2024.