In two international tenders in Lyon and Geneva for the electrification of the respective fleets, HESS was awarded the contract. Over the next four years, the company will deliver a total of 127 electrically powered articulated buses to France and 121 electric articulated and double-articulated buses to Lake Geneva. The contracts also include the supply of charging infrastructure and options for up to 241 additional vehicles by 2030.
In Lyon, the administration and politicians have approved an investment package that not only includes the purchase of a trolleybus fleet with high-performance batteries, but also enables the use of these vehicles on lines previously used by diesel buses. The catenary network will also be expanded, but longer stretches of the new lines will do without overhead lines. On these sections, the trolleybuses will run electrically in pure battery operation. The new vehicles will complement the fleet of 2021 vehicles of the same type, which has already been in service since February. The HESS buses already in use are on the C13 line. It connects the 8th district of Lyon (Grange Blanche) with Caluire-et-Cuire (Montessuy) and is used by over 27,000 passengers every day. From spring 2024, the C13 line will be operated entirely with the new HESS articulated buses, which will be able to cover up to 40% of the route without overhead lines in battery mode. Line C11 will follow in September. The expansion of the trolleybus system is part of a comprehensive overall package that aims to be able to completely dispense with diesel buses from
around 2026. In Geneva, TPG (Transports Publics Genevois) will have an all-electric bus fleet by 2030. As a system provider, HESS supplies a turnkey system consisting of vehicles and charging infrastructure. To this end, Hitachi Energy (until 2020 Hitachi ABB Power Grids) will contribute the necessary infrastructure as a subcontractor of HESS. The first new e-buses from HESS are scheduled to run on the line from 2025. The vehicles are recharged via fast-charging stations at the final stops and at selected stops. The fast-charging technology enables charging within seconds and minimizes vehicle downtime. The sustained positive order situation at HESS means that capacities in Bellach in Solothurn and in the new plant in Portugal will be further expanded. The number of employees increases to around 800 employees across the Group. Around 40 additional jobs will be created in Bellach alone, especially in the fields of diagnostics, mechanics, automation and software development. At Busworld Hess will be in hall 9, stand 950.