At least 100 million passengers will travel every year on Copenhagen's electric buses. But it is not only the capital that has chosen electric mobility for public transport: across 45 municipalities and the region of Zealand, buses will be zero-emission by 2030. The decision was agreed with Movia, one of Denmark's largest public transport companies, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions and pollutants. The capital alone plans to become carbon neutral by 2025.

Electric buses recharge via Wi-Fi

The technology for charging the electric buses will be provided by Siemens, which has developed a pantograph system capable of charging bus batteries via Wi-Fi, regardless of the manufacturer. The charging points will be installed at various terminals, so that vehicles are able to cover their scheduled routes on a full charge.

The charging process begins when the electric bus arrives at the platform. At that point the pantograph lowers and automatically establishes a Wi-Fi connection with the bus. As soon as the driver applies the handbrake, the charging process starts and the four-pole pantograph connects to the rails on the roof of the bus. A full charge takes between six and eight minutes, depending on the power output, which ranges from 150 kW, 300 kW or 450 kW.

The environmental benefits of electric buses

"Movia aims to achieve climate-friendly mobility for the benefit of cities, businesses and citizens," said Kirsten Jensen, head of the company, mayor of Hillerød and member of the European Parliament, in a statement. "The agreement with Siemens paves the way for electric buses across the region and can drive forward the fleet renewal we have been working on for years".
In a recent study, the German company showed that replacing the 385 diesel-powered buses in the city of Copenhagen alone would lead to a reduction of 37 million tonnes of CO2, a cut in carbon monoxide emissions (83 tonnes) and a reduction in PM10 of more than 5 tonnes per year.