A diverse set of European public transport operators presented on their plans to upgrade the trolleybus systems in their cities by using the potentials of in-motion charging and battery-equipped trolleybuses. Some operators will also conduct feasibility studies to analyse a reintroduction of trolleybuses in their cities completely from scratch.
Before the start of the 6th International E-Bus Conference which took place this year in Solingen (21-22 November), the Trolley 2.0 project kicked off its User Forum. This is a forum set up specifically for city/ regional authorities and public transport operators that are either currently in the process of upgrading their trolleybus systems or conducting feasibility studies to analyse the potentials of introducing completely new systems in their cities by making use of battery-equipped trolleybuses and in-motion charging capabilities.

By means of an open call, the Trolley 2.0 project has selected fourteen highly-ambitious public transport operators and city/ regional authorities that will closely follow the project and validate the results and experiences which will be made within the project:
– BVG Berlin, DE
– Hordaland County Council, NO
– PMDP Pilsen, CZ
– Maribor City Council, SI
– VBZ Zurich, CH
– BKV Budapest
– Salzburg AG, AT
– TPER Bologna, IT
– OSY Athens, EL
– STW Klagenfurt, AT
– SWMR Marburg, DE
– SVE Esslingen, DE
– MPK Lublin, PL
– SWS Solingen, DE

Each of the User Forum members presented on their current plans as regards the plans for electrification in their cities as well as to what extent in-motion charging and battery-equipped trolleybuses could play a role in this. The public transport operators from Marburg and Berlin are currently conducting feasibility studies as to whether introducing trolleybus lines is technically and financially a viable option for electrifying parts of their public transport systems. We are keen on hearing about the results from all these cities and operators and are happy to be part of a renaissance of trolleybuses in Europe!
The Trolley 2.0 User Forum was followed by a joint session organized together with the UITP Trolleybus Committee on the topic of Smart Trolley Grids. The session started with a presentation by Dirk Baumeister from Bergische Universität Wuppertal on the Battery-Overhead-Bus (BOB) project in Solingen which will see a total of 20 hybrid-trolleybuses with in-motion charging capabilities to be introduced in the city as well as an analysis on the potentials of photovoltaic systems and stationary battery storage facilities. The BOB project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) with ca. € 15 million and functions as national trolleybus lighthouse project. This was followed by a presentation by Menno Kardolus from PRE Power Developers who is also a partner of the Trolley 2.0 project. Mr. Kardolus presented on the possibilities of integrating multi-purpose DC chargers into the trolley grid, thereby also allowing electric cars (or other vehicles) to be charged using the trolley grid.

All presentations from the User Forum Day and combined Smart Trolley Grid session can be found at:

The Trolley 2.0 project was also organizer and host to the 2nd day of the international conference (22 November) at which the project partners Arnhem, Szeged, Gdynia, and Eberswalde as well as further trolleybus cities presented on their plans to further upgrade their trolleybus systems based on in-motion charging concepts. You can find all presentations given during the 6th International E-Bus Conference by the Trolley 2.0 project members at: https://trolleymotion.eu/konferenz-2018/

If you are interested in hearing more about the Trolley 2.0 project, please get in touch with Henning Günter or Alexandra Scharzenberger. For more information about the project, visit: https://trolleymotion.eu/trolley2-0/