Pamplona adds nine electric buses more to be recharged at Iberdrola España's infrastructure

• The fleet of vehicles of the Mancomunidad de la Comarca of the capital of Navarre will recharge, with 100% green energy, the batteries of 20 electric buses.

• Iberdrola España launched the electrification project for the TCC bus depots, providing them with the necessary infrastructure for charging these buses.

Pamplona's Regional Urban Transport is today adding nine 100% electric buses which will be included in the fleet in the next few days. The presentation event for the new “villavesas” (public buses called “villavesas” in Pamplona, as the name of the company), held at the TUC depot, was attended by the Government Delegate in Navarre, Alicia Echeverría; the Director General of Transport and Sustainable Mobility of the Government of Navarre, Berta Miranda; the President of the MCP, David Campión; and the Managing Director of the Moventis Group, Juan Giménez. Iberdrola España, which has launched the electrification project that provides the necessary infrastructure to charge up to 20 buses, was represented by Alberto Pérez de Ciriza, from the company's sales team in the northern area.

The Mancomunidad de la Comarca de Pamplona, TCC and Iberdrola España join forces in the commitment to fight against climate change, the decarbonisation of cities and sustainable mobility.

The nine vehicles presented today are the 12 metre long 'Irizar ieTRAM 12' model, exactly the same as the bus presented last September. The vehicles have an avant-garde design with tram aesthetics, are equipped with the latest generation Irizar 430 kWh batteries and motors with a maximum traction power of 240 kW. The charging power is 100 kW and charging takes less than 5 hours. Each bus has an on-board energy capacity that guarantees a minimum service of 16.5 hours.

It should be noted that for charging the new buses last year, ten 180 kW rectifier charging units were installed in the TUC depot building, which feed 10 dual output dispensers, each of which allows the simultaneous charging of two buses: 90 kW each or just one at the maximum load allowed by the vehicle (up to 180 kW). 

To supply this equipment, a 13.2 kV medium-voltage line was installed from the existing transformer substation in the depot area to a new 2,500 kVA transformer substation installed inside the building next to the rectifiers. 

The facility is equipped with a Bia Could platform to manage the vehicle charging process remotely and monitor it in real time, intelligently and using machine learning technologies.

These vehicles, with their modern and innovative design, will recharge their batteries with 100% green energy from renewable sources, and will also allow further progress to be made in the integral transformation of the fleet of villavesas towards total neutrality in emissions.

Each vehicle has a capacity for 80 people, three sliding doors – as those of trains –, 26 seats (4 of them for people with reduced mobility), two areas for wheelchairs and trolleys and a double wheelchair access ramp (electric + manual).

The remaining ten vehicles, which, like those presented today, also correspond to the renewal of the fleet in 2023, are expected to be added next June. These new 100% electric buses are in addition to the seven existing electric buses: six that have operated on line 9 since 2019 and the bus presented last September, for line 3.

The acquisition of the new vehicles was made possible thanks to European funds aimed at the sustainable transformation of Urban Transport, for which the Mancomunidad de la Comarca de Pamplona received €4.9 million from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda (MITMA). The MCP proposal envisaged the purchase of 20 12-metre electric buses (€4 million) and the installation of 20 slow-charging points of 90 kW each and the adaptation of depots for this purpose (€910,580).

Boosting electric mobility and decarbonisation

Iberdrola España exceeds 6,000 public charging points and thus doubles its charging infrastructure compared to 2022. All of these points use 100% green energy, from renewable sources with a guarantee of origin certificate (GdOs). In total, Iberdrola España's public and private network reaches 45,000 points – which reinforces its leading position as the most extensive public recharging network in Spain. 

The company has installed between 200 and 300 public chargers per month over the past year, to which should be added 1,700 more points under construction and 3,200 more, awaiting various administrative procedures, which will be operational in the coming months. 

Iberdrola España's network is currently the largest in the country and, thanks to the new developments that the company will promote during 2024, it expects to provide users with an even more extensive infrastructure with the best range of locations and charging speeds. The company's plans for the next financial year include the installation of over 3,000 additional charging points – bringing the total to more than 9,000 by the end of the year.

In addition to these points operated by Iberdrola España, a high-power charging network will be added as a result of its alliance with bp, formed in 2023 with the aim of promoting fast and ultra-fast charging in Spain and Portugal. Its plans include the investment of €1,000 million with the aim of creating the most extensive fast and ultra-fast public charging network on the peninsula – with 11,700 points by 2030. 

This combination of charging stations allows users to have the type of charging points that best suits their needs at any given time, from charging in a longer parking space to ultra-fast charging, between 5 and 10 minutes.

Iberdrola España's development of electric mobility also extends to the private sector in companies and residential customers – reaching more than 45,000 charging points in conjunction with the public grid.