School transport | Hydro-Quebec wants to facilitate power conversion

InnovHQ subsidiary has launched a pilot project to improve electric bus charging management

Mark Tyson
Tap

Recharging a set of commercial electric vehicles is an issue that needs to be dealt with more and more by companies or individuals who transport goods.

“We are operators, but we are not operators of electric power plants. This is very worrying,” said Stefan Boiswort, president of Autobus Sagin.

To better understand the needs of electric school bus owners and help them manage their vehicle charging, Hydro-Quebec subsidiary InnovQ is launching a pilot project with Autobus Sagin.

You know, electric fleet maintenance is not just about buying a vehicle. You need infrastructure to recharge, but most of all, the main challenge is to have a software or fleet management system based on the mileage each vehicle travels each day, my drivers’ driving habits, and the time required to recharge.

Stefan Boiswert, president of Autobus Sagin

Laval Transporter, which owns nearly 300 school buses, announced a deal with Lion Electric this year to buy 60 electric buses over five years. The first 10 were delivered on September 13th.

Recharge and overload

Launched just over a year ago, InnovQu “has the goal of accelerating the transformation of energy,” said its chairman, Simon Rasikot-Diganolt.

The company noted that a major obstacle to the electrification of commercial parks is the barriers to simultaneous recharging.

Unlike what happens to individuals, companies’ prices increase depending on peaks in consumption.

“The fleet operator is not used to playing with these parameters. The use of offices, buildings and garages is relatively stable.

“We thought customers would benefit by getting support to optimize their charging.”

Under a 12-month turnkey contract, InnovQ Autobus will provide Sagin with 12 charging stations, a set of transformers in a small container, a remote charging management system and technical support.

Charging is handled in InnovHQ.

“I have an attendant who coordinates the vehicles,” explained Stefan Boiswert. When does the recharge start and end? Clearly, next year, it’s not an autobus saguin, it’s a hydro-Quebec. The same deal. ”

The InnovHQ has access to and can learn from telemetry of electric vehicles, usage, mileage per circuit, drivers’ driving habits, hours used – transporter’s relevant data.

“Our cooperation is primarily focused on the expansion and size of the infrastructure, which meets the carrier needs,” said Jeff Desrouissaux, CEO, who resides in Innovacue. And in the case of the pilot project, we are helping the customers to understand all the issues, to navigate through the challenges of electrification. So, we give advice, we give support. ”

Several Quebec suppliers, including Lion Electric, Malco Electric and Adnanergy, are involved in the project.

Suites

At the end of the 12-month pilot project, a trade agreement could be reached between Autobus Sagin and InnovQ. “We hope so!”, Autobus Sagin launched the President.

In the long run, for InnovHQ, the goal is to “have a great impact on energy transformation,” says Simon Rasikot-Dazonalt. The ultimate goal is to assist any fleet operator. “