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New Flyer Joins OppCharge: Overhead Bus Charging

New Flyer buses will recharge using OppCharge - a roof charging system

New Flyer announced that its the first North American bus manufacturer (outside of Volvo Buses / Nova Buses) to join OppCharge, the global initiative to support interoperable charging systems for electric vehicles.

OppCharge enables fast charging of the buses and trucks through an overhead pantograph, that lowers from the station to the bus bars installed on the roof of the vehicle. The charging power of the system is scalable and currently usually starts from 150 kW DC and ends at 450 kW (which not necessarily be the end of progress).

The main force behind OppCharge is Volvo, but in Europe OppCharge is quickly becoming the leading standard (one of two) so many bus and station manufacturers are now on-board with OppCharge.

In the case of New Flyer, overhead pantograph charging will be available in all Xcelsior CHARGE buses: 35, 40, and 60-foot models.

Electric bus (Nova Bus) at the OppCharge overhead fast charging station

"This commitment makes New Flyer the first licensee outside the Volvo Group to join OppCharge in America. It also continues New Flyer’s active participation in and support of global charging standards for electric buses and coaches, for both enroute and depot charging options.

OppCharge interface is a solution driven by Volvo Bus Corporation and several other stakeholders, with the OppCharge Trademark owned by Volvo Bus Corporation.

In 2018, New Flyer joined CharIN to support industry charging standards for all electric vehicles, shortly after becoming the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities and also celebrating the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium’s (“CUTRIC”) launch of the Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial – the world’s first multi-manufacturer interoperability demonstration for fast-charge electric buses – of which New Flyer was a contributing member.

OppCharge was established to create a common interface for direct current (DC) high-power charging for medium and heavy-duty vehicles."

"OppCharge systems are currently operational in cities throughout Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Canada, with supporting international members including Siemens, Solaris, ABB, Nova Bus, and Volvo. New Flyer projects are underway or planned for cities in the United States including New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis. For more information, visit oppcharge.org."

New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE 40’

David Warren, New Flyer’s Director of Sustainable Transportation, explained that joining OppCharge utilizes important global charging standards:

“When bus manufacturers use a common charging interface, cities can share electric charging equipment across transit, refuse, and urban delivery vehicles. OppCharge provides interoperability that reduces capital investment in charging equipment, and allows city planners to implement cohesive infrastructure for heavy duty electric vehicles – creating a foundation for long-term, multi-modal application.”

Chris Stoddart, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Service said:

“OppCharge allows a transit bus to charge quickly and reliably at routine stops: for each hour of service, a bus typically requires only six minutes of charging time, allowing continuous high transit operations. We are proud of our OppCharge commitment as it directly supports development of connected multi-modal transportation – known as smart mobility – to propel smart city growth. We are committed to advancing smart mobility in delivering safe, clean, efficient, and connected multimodal transportation in cities across North America.”

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