ABB and Polara Collaborate to Accelerate Emissions Reduction with Transport Charging Solution

November 10, 2023

ABB has been awarded a contract by EV infrastructure company Polara to provide e-mobility Compact Secondary Substation (CSS) skid-mounted power distribution units to charge and electrify vehicle fleets in Canada and the United States.

As part of the exclusive collaboration, ABB is supplying power distribution skids for the Polara CHRGPK^TM, an optimized modular design unit that will offer various skid sizes depending on the number of vehicles requiring charging at any given time. Each CHRGPK unit comprises a CSS housing low to medium voltage switchgear up to 40.5 kV, transformers and a low voltage switchboard with protection devices. 

Some key benefits of developing the modular skid solution design include reduced engineering, risk and time, as well as simplified ‘plug and play’ installation and increased safety. The pre-engineered units are assembled and tested at the factory, are ideal for public areas where safety is a top priority.

“ABB’s extensive experience with grid applications and proven engineering are some of the reasons that we elected to work with them to create a cost-effective solution that meets our customer’s needs,” said Sébastien Fournier, CEO of Polara. “The custom-engineered solutions can be duplicated in future rollouts. This is critical to keep up with the growing market demand. Operators are now responsible for procurement, charging infrastructure and maintenance of their zero-emission vehicles, and Polara is committed to their energy transition.”

“ABB is a solution provider that understands grid codes and integrated packages,” said Brandon Spencer, President of ABB Energy Industries. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to provide solutions that are safe, reliable and help to accelerate the adoption of sustainable transportation in North America.”

The partnership comes as the Canadian government is investing about $11 billion USD over the next eight years in reliable, fast, affordable, and clean public transit¹. This includes more than $2 billion USD per year in federal public transit funding which will be available to support projects beginning in 2026 and 2027. In the United States, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law² is actively promoting electrification. It is an $11 billion USD investment by 2030, which includes creating a network of electric vehicle chargers and supports the transition to electrification across all types of vehicles.

While the Québec Government’s 2030 Plan for a Green Economy³ includes the electrification of up to 65 percent of its existing school bus fleet and a stipulation that all new school buses in the province must be electric. The large-scale investment in the electrification of school buses is a key to Québec’s goal of a 48 percent reduction in emissions within the transportation sector by 2030 – down to 29.6 millions of tonnes of CO₂ from 36.5 Mt in 2019.

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