Carlos Guisasola Madrid

Madrid

Updated Wednesday, February 14, 2024-00:30

These days they are finalizing details at the Carabanchel Operations Center. It is the jewel in the crown for which the Municipal Transport Company (EMT) is putting its chest out, after an investment of

6.7 million euros

. They have been working for months on that mega electric bus charging station, in the southwest of the city, where, when the technical adjustments are completed, up to 118 vehicles will be able to be charged simultaneously. We are talking about buses weighing about

18 tons

and

12 meters long

, for which 22 euros are allocated per 100 kilometers. We are also talking about a supply with inverted pantographs, a system launched a year ago for energy supply and a commitment by Spanish engineers (in other countries they focus on the plug), with

10 megawatts of power

throughout the infrastructure.

“It is a unique headquarters in Europe,” they boast from the heart of EMT Madrid. Because, as they maintain, where they come closest to this volcano of electricity is in London. However, the British capital, despite its firm sustainable commitment, is far from the parameters of this colossal

carabanchelera

station . "In all centers there is electrical load to some extent, but the bet is here," they complete from the heart of the infrastructure, where the commitment to operational issues has focused. It is, in a way, the right eye. In its day, the

Sanchinarro

center

was a pioneer in gas. At

Entrevías

, the bet is on green hydrogen. The one in

La Elipa

is currently being renovated, and will end up being completely electric. And, they say, Fuencarral

also

had its moment.

The Carabanchel.EM electric charging station

But right now, everyone turns their gaze towards the edge of Avenida de los Poblados, where this operations center accustomed to frenzy rests. Also to the silence of the electric motors. According to what they say, 1,400 workers pass through there:

1,200 drivers

and

200 workshop and administration personnel

. When the project concludes, it will have 260 charging points. Part of this electrical injection, specifically 10%, comes from the photovoltaic roof with 1,055 panels, to reduce demand.

Its electrical supply facilities draw attention, with those 40 chargers with 360 kilowatts that could minimize the time to fully charge a bus to just one hour. But also, much more discreet, the new fire protection system, gas detection and thermal imaging cameras. All of this allows us to react immediately to any incident, since preventive protection (thermographic cameras) and early detection (by gases, even with manual activation of the system) are prioritized, thus facilitating faster protection and minimizing possible damage.

100% electric fleet in 2033

The activity does not stop at the Carabanchel Operations Center, where blue buses of various formats enter and leave, including those minibuses that travel through the bowels of the capital. Most electrical impulse. From the end of 2022, EMT no longer has any diesel vehicles and its fleet is 100% clean in accordance with the European Clean Vehicles Directive.

The first electric buses began to circulate in 2008 and currently, of the 2,102 buses that make up the EMT fleet, 275 are 100% electric vehicles (13.08%), which provide service on 28

electrified

lines

. The rest are gas-powered buses. In fact, last year they acquired the last copies of this type of format. In 2025, 25% of the municipal bus fleet will be electric, and by 2033 it is planned to be 100%.

Ultimately, almost seven million euros (90% financed with European

Next Generation

funds ) will be invested in this icon of sustainable transport in the capital, which also has two electrical transformation centers. "There is no center in Europe that is like it," they repeat from EMT, while the details are being finalized in this corner of the south of the city. Within its walls, more than a hundred zero-emission buses will be able to charge their batteries. From those fuel pumps for the (now) old coaches, to this row of pantographs that has placed the Carabanchel headquarters under the spotlight. "Beyond this project, EMT seeks to transform all its infrastructures into more sustainable constructions to adapt them to decarbonization." They are in it.