ABB has joined forces with a Chinese bus manufacturer to jointly develop an electric bus with what they claim will be the world’s fastest charger.

The electric bus will feature a “flash” charging system that is said to be able to top up the battery “in just seconds” while passengers get on and off the vehicle.

ABB says this will avoid the need to take the vehicle out of service for recharging every few hours or having a replacement bus ready, thus helping minimise the size of the fleet.

A pilot project will be developed in China, with King Long Motor Group designing and assembling the electric bus while ABB will provide the charging solution.

Niklas Persson, Managing Director of ABB Power Grids’ Grid Integration business line said: “Taking less than a second for the overhead arm to connect and for battery charging to begin, ABB’s TOSA brings speed and flexibility to battery charging, making it the ideal solution for high-capacity, high-frequency routes.”

The technology is already being used in Geneva, Switzerland and has helped save more than 1,000 tons of carbon emissions.

It is also being installed in 20 electric buses in Nantes, France, which are due to start operating in September 2019.