First public transport electric bus depot equipped with Kempower charging solutions starts to operate in Bologna, Italy

• Italy’s first electric bus depot equipped with Kempower charging solutions opened its doors in Via Ferrarese, Bologna, on the 25^th of March 2024.
• The depot offers up to 20 simultaneous charging points and it is operated by TPER (Transporto Passeggeri Emilia-Romagna), a top player company in net-0 mobility in Italy.
• The project is a key milestone for the city of Bologna to comply with its objective to have a full net-0 public transport by 2030.

Bologna, Italy - Kempower strengthens its presence in Italy by delivering DC charging solutions to public transportation operator TPER’s (Transporto Passeggeri Emilia-Romagna) bus depot - one of the biggest bus depots in Europe with 500 vehicles. The depot opened its doors in Via Ferrarese, Bologna, on the 25^th of March 2024 and it is Italy’s first equipped with Kempower charging solutions.

The project is a key milestone for the city of Bologna, enlisted among the 100 cities of Horizon Europe’s mission, whose objective is to reach climate neutrality by 2030 – 20 years earlier than the deadline set by the EU with regards to environment, energy and climate.

Cities are home to 75% of EU citizens, consume over 65% of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions. The transition to a more sustainable public transport system plays a pivotal role not only in reducing emissions, but also in offering cleaner air, safer transport and less congestion and noise to their citizens.

Bologna is leading the net-0 public transport transition among Italian cities and the opening of this new e-bus charging site is key for the city to comply with its sustainability goals. At this site, TPER will charge 20 electric buses (12m and 18m lengths) simultaneously with five single-output Kempower Satellites to be used as an auxiliary charging point and with the possibility to charge up to 130 kW, and 20 Kempower Pantographs, with the chance to charge up to 300 kW.

“At TPER, our motto is that “a bus serves as a bus”, as to say that all our vehicles, including e-buses, must properly operate on their assigned routes. This is how we can ultimately ensure our efficiency and thus long-term operations,” Explains Mr. Monzali, Technical Director for Infrastructure at TPER.

“I was therefore looking for an utterly reliable charging solution for our e-fleet, to prevent any of our e-buses to stop at any time due to lack of power. The modular Kempower’s power unit and the related dynamic power management allow us to grant charging even in case a fault should occur.  Failing power modules can even be remotely isolated for servicing, allowing uninterrupted operation for the rest. This is extremely important for us,” concludes Monzali.

As TPER expands its electric bus fleet, the demand for charging capacity at the depot will rise accordingly. Kempower’s modular and scalable charging solutions will allow TPER to easily increase the charging capacity at the depot, when needed.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute to TPER’s initiative to electrify the public transportation in the region. Electrification of public transport is an important step for the Municipality of Bologna when working towards its climate goals, and we look forward to further expanding our collaboration with TPER as the need for reliable charging solutions increase,” said Tommi Liuska, Chief Sales Officer at Kempower.

 

Further information:

Kempower, media
Paula Savonen, Vice President, Communications, Kempower

paula.savonen@kempower.com 

Tel. +358 400 343 851

 

About Kempower:

We design and manufacture reliable and user-friendly DC fast charging solutions for electric vehicles. Our vision is to create the world’s most desired EV charging solutions for everyone, everywhere. Our product development and production are based in Finland, with a majority of our materials and components sourced locally. We focus on all areas of e-mobility, from electric cars, trucks, and buses to machines and marine. Our modular and scalable charging system and world-class software are designed by EV drivers for EV drivers, enabling the best user experience for our customers around the world. Kempower is listed in the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. www.kempower.com

 

About TPER:

Tper SpA is the leading local public transport company in Emilia-Romagna by number and volume of services and is at the head of one of the largest industrial groups of sustainable mobility in Italy. Its main shareholders are the Region of Emilia-Romagna (46.13%), the Municipality of Bologna (30.11%), the Metropolitan City of Bologna (18.79%); the Province and Municipality of Ferrara, ACT of Reggio Emilia, Ravenna Holding Spa and the Province of Parma complete the corporate structure. Tper manages Local Public Transport by road in the provincial basins of Bologna and Ferrara and in partnership with Trenitalia (through the company TrenitaliaTper) the passenger service in the regional railway sector. Tper is a Public Interest Entity; it holds shareholdings in 13 companies, mainly operating in the passenger and freight transport sector, 8 of which are subsidiaries, 4 associates and 1 investee and is present on regulated markets with listed bonds. It is the main shareholder of Seta, a LPT company in the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Piacenza, and a partner in Start Romagna, which operates services in the Romagna area. In order to meet new mobility needs, Tper also manages "Corrente", the totally electric free-flow car sharing operating in Bologna, Ferrara, Imola and Casalecchio di Reno. www.tper.it