On 21 October, the ASSURED project held its first online demo launch in Gothenburg. Hosted by Volvo Buses, the Gothenburg launch marked the start of a series of demos taking place around Europe that will test different solutions aiming to advance the uptake of electric commercial fleets in cities.
The Gothenburg event gathered the presence of UITP (International Association of Public Transport), the European Commission, ASSURED Coordinator Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Västtrafik, and the ASSURED Consortium. During the event, participants witnessed the interoperability of different technologies for high-power fast charging with urban commercial vehicles, like public transport buses and trucks, but also vans.
One of the highlights of the event was the announcement from Volvo that, starting from autumn 2021, it will start offering charging via a roof-mounted pantograph, known as panto up. The Volvo Buses panto up solution is based on the very latest technology from Schunk, featuring such benefits as compact installation and low additional on-board weight. Panto up will be available as an alternative for the Volvo 7900 Electric and Volvo 7900 Electric Articulated in Europe as of autumn 2021.
Read more in the press release from Volvo.