Articulated Battery Bus with IMC500

Public transport companies that operate diesel-powered buses partly under overhead wires can electrify their bus fleets by operating electric buses equipped with Kiepe Electric’s IMC technology. SWS, the public transport company in Solingen, has decided to realise this innovative solution: They exchange the diesel buses of line 695 to IMC electric buses. 

The existing overhead wires will function as a approximately 2 km long IMC road, used as a charging infrastructure. The batteries of the buses will be recharged in accordance with the In Motion Charging (IMC) concept when they drive under the overhead wire. The new electric buses, which are called BOB (Battery Overhead wire Buses) in Solingen, are equipped with liquid-cooled lithium-titanate-oxide (LTO) traction batteries. Thanks to these batteries and the only 2 x 2.1 km long “IMC charging road” the BOBs can perform regular nonstop passenger service on the 18 km long circulation.

Out of town nearly 80 % of the route is without overhead wire. As the system concept, which consists of an electric drive, a battery with a battery charger, and the integration into the existing infrastructure are of vital importance, Kiepe Electric has taken on a leading role in the project.

IMC500 from Kiepe Electric allows powerful transfer of energy of 500 kW from the infrastructure into the vehicle in motion, which means that sufficient power is available for reliable and fast charging of the battery, which in turn means that the bus has sufficient power for acceleration, for driving up-hill and for other actions requiring much energy. IMC500 also provides a charging power reserve so that the bus can drive a longer, out-of-schedule way without overhead wires (i.e. without IMC road), e.g. to by-pass road work. If the grid is temporarily or locally weak, then Kiepe Electric’s intelligent energy management system prevents overloading as it adapts the current input correspondingly and utilises the infrastructure optimally.