ETRA commissions in Madrid the first inductive charging system for electric buses in Spain. This enables the full operation of a whole line with buses 100% electric.

Last December 29th it was presented to the public the new inductive charging system that ETRA has delivered to EMT Madrid (Madrid’s public transport operator). The system has been commissioned after the successful project execution by an ETRA led consortium.

The event counted with the presence of Madrid’s mayor, Madrid’s councillor for Environment and Mobility and the general manager of EMT.

This innovative system, the first in Spain and one of the few of its kind in Europe. The system allows the uninterrupted operation of EMT’s line 76 (with 42 stops and 14 km) by means of 5 fully electric buses. This becomes possible thanks to the opportunity charging enabled by the two inductive charging stations situated in the two terminus of the line.

Inductive charging takes place by means of two magnetic coils. One of them is situated in the lower part of the bus and another embedded in the ground. The charging station is activated electrically. This only happen when a magnetic coil equipped bus is detected located over the embedded magnetic coil. All these components are fully insulated to ensure the complete safety of the system.

In adition, some relevant features of the system are:

  • No additional work in bus drivers’ daily operations.
  • Buses are equipped with a parking assistance tool.
  • Drive / Stop load with 1 button only.
  • Information integrated in the ETRA’s SAE (public transport fleet operations management system) console.
  • Web Application for Monitoring the Charge System.
  • Retrofit of 5 plug-in CNG-hybrid buses into fully electric.
  • Conductive charge takes place at depot during night time.
  • Buses charge their batteries at night in a conductive way.
  • During daily operation the inductive charging points at the terminus enable fast (less than 8 minutes) opportunistic charging.

Finally, this new project carried out with an operator of the calibre of EMT Madrid, strengthens ETRA’s position as a key player in the field of advanced technologies applied to sustainable, quality public transport as well as in the field of electromobility.

Recarga inductiva; Inductive charging system; Sistema de Recarga Indutiva