Smart EV has wrapped up the installation of a high-capacity hub to charge Golden Arrow Bus Services’ (GABS’s) new BYD electric bus fleet at the transport company’s Arrowgate depot.

Smart EV is a member of the STS Tech Group.

GABS will have 120 BYD electric buses on the road by the end of the year, which will make up roughly 10% of its fleet.

Smart EV chief experience officer Mike Pritchard says Phase 1 of the project saw the installation of 30 quick-charging Autel DC 120 smart chargers, each with two charging guns.

Phase 2 added an additional 20 Autel DC 120s, which were switched on in October.

The entire project involved increasing the City of Cape Town’s electricity supply to the depot from 1 MW to 6 MW.

This, among other interventions, now enables Golden Arrow to charge 100 buses in 90 minutes – “If they have to”, explains Pritchard.

In order to save on electricity costs, however, the standard charging window is between five and six hours.

The Arrowgate charging system is linked to a 1.5 MW solar PV installation, which is set to grow to 2 MW by December, and to 8 MW in subsequent phases.

“During daytime charging, the chargers make use of energy produced from the onsite solar system. This feed, however, only acts as a supplement to the electric buses’ charging requirements,” says Pritchard.

The EV chargers are monitored through smart systems, controlled to not charge during peak times, and to manage the load to prevent any large demand peaks during charging.

“We have had no downtime since the installation, with everything managed down to the micro level,” notes Pritchard.

“Golden Arrow has a telematics system that is integrated into our charging system,” he adds.

“This provides them with all the data they need to ensure their buses are on the road as and when required.”

“With the Smart EV system in place, we are not only saving 63% on the energy component of our business, but we are now also using our surplus solar power wisely, joining a growing smart energy trend that also significantly reduces our carbon footprint,” notes GABS company engineer Gideon Neethling.

The charging infrastructure rollout at GABS’ Arrowgate depot is Smart EV’s biggest contract to date, at a value of more than R100-million.

Around 150 jobs were created during the implementation phase.