Siemens has launched its electric bus charging system, which can recharge buses manufactured by different companies, in Hamburg, Germany.

Hamburger Hochbahn, which operates the bus system in the city of Hamburg, has begun the operation of three additional electric buses (e-buses) on its ‘innovation line’ route 109.

The battery-powered buses are designed and built by Solaris, a Polish company.

Electric buses will use Siemens' charging stations for charging their batteries.

The same station will also be used by other plug-in hybrid buses from Volvo, which has been serving Hamburg since the end of 2014.

Siemens claimed that it has now become the world’s first company to offer a charging infrastructure for e-buses that ensures interoperability for vehicles from different manufacturers.

"Siemens claimed that it has now become the world’s first company to offer a charging infrastructure for e-buses that ensures interoperability for vehicles from different manufacturers."

Each charging terminal has a capacity of 300KW, and each charging station can provide enough power to the bus that will enable them to operate a full day from terminal to terminal on line 109.

The batteries placed in the buses will be charged completely within a span of six minutes.

The charging process has been designed and developed on the lines of open international standards IEC 61851 and ISO 15118 that are the basis for e-bus charging systems. The open standards enable vehicles of different manufacturers to use the same charging system.

Image: Siemens' electric bus charging system debuts in Hamburg, Germany. Photo: Courtesy of Siemens.