Volvo got a 17 full electric buses contract in Luxembourg City

17 battery-electric buses are going to hit Luxembourg City roads by the end of this year. Who won the tender? Volvo Buses, that is already active in the city mainly with plug-in hybrid buses. And the new contract has an option to increase the number to 25 buses. The news has been reported on the local media Luxembourg Wort.

Volvo provided a test vehicles, other bidders didn’t

In the capital city of Luxembourg there are already some 70 buses powered by electricity running under the flag of bus operator AVL (Autobus de la ville de Luxembourg). In fact, the city is gradually converting the bus fleet to carbon free vehicles. In the article published on Luxembourg Wort, the alderman for mobility Patrick Goldschmidt highlights the fact that “We had demanded to have a test vehicle to carry out tests, and only this manufacturer among the three who had applied made this effort”. 

Reportedly, the arrival of new electric buses will require adaptation works at the depot of Bouillon and in other crucial areas of the city.

Volvo Buses and second life batteries

In late 2019, in Gothenburg, Volvo Buses announced the launch of a new project concerning the use of second life batteries from electric buses. In a cooperation with Stena Property and Stena Recycling’s subsidiary BatteryLoop, bus batteries are used for energy storage and as an energy source in Gothenburg’s Fyrklövern residential complex. The project is a step towards circular economy in electromobility creating new commercial possibilities for companies.

In Stena Property’s Fyrklövern residential area the reused bus batteries will be charged from solar panels fitted to the building roofs, and the electricity that is stored in them will be used for public areas such as laundries and outdoor lighting. When the battery pack’s energy storage capability ends, the batteries will be sent to Stena Recycling for recycling, Volvo Buses explains.