IAA: Supercharged

The latest technological advancements will undoubtedly take pride of place at this year’s IAA International Motor Show. Under the slogan “Driving the future”, the event will present numerous world, European and German premieres.

One such product is the Opbrid Trůkbaar – an ultra-high-power, automatic charging station for trucks, which is fully compatible with the Opbrid Bůsbaar V3 for buses.

Both products are developed by Furrer+Frey, a company with 90 years’ experience in high-power transfer to vehicles, and Opbrid, which has been focusing on fast charging stations for heavy vehicles since 2009.

The design duo states that while plug-in urban buses, like the Volvo Electric Hybrid, are natural candidates for fast charging en route, there are also very compelling business cases for fast-charged electric trucks in diverse areas such as refuse collection, airport vehicles, ports and delivery trucks.

The Opbrid Trůkbaar’s compact, lightweight and simple design allows it to be mounted on most trucks. The power transfer is delivered via a pantograph (the joint framework conveying a current to a train, tram or other electric vehicles), which lowers from the curbside station onto an inexpensive, transverse four-contact bar on the roof of the vehicle.

The companies state that both the Opbrid Trůkbaar and Bůsbaar V3 are designed for ultra-high-power charging, up to 650 kW. “This amount of power transfer enables scenarios such as super-short charge stops and 24-hour operation.”

Since the Opbrid Trůkbaar and Bůsbaar are 100-percent compatible, cities can leverage their investment in bus chargers by also using them for rubbish collection, delivery vehicles and street cleaners. Vehicles of various heights can also charge at the same station, due to the large vertical working range of the charging station. 

The Opbrid Trůkbaar and Bůsbaar V3 are on display at the IAA 2014 in Hall 13, Stand F12.