WAVE bringing wireless depot charging to Oregon with expanded order from Josephine Community Transit

WAVE announced Josephine Community Transit (JCT) expanded its original order from a single charger to four 125kW depot chargers in Grants Pass, Ore.

In addition to installing WAVE's wireless charging system, Ideanomics Energy will manage all construction related to deploying the depot charging systems.

"Having run our electric buses with plug-in chargers for a few years now, we've experienced first-hand the challenges of managing cables," said Scott Chancey, transit manager, JCT. "Replacing plugs-ins with WAVE will allow us to expand our fleet within our existing space while bringing park-and-charge simplicity to our depot operations."

WAVE says transit agency space and labor constraints become more pronounced as they scale from small trial stages to operating an entire electric fleet.

"Going electric within their existing depot space is one of the major challenges transit agencies face right now," said WAVE CEO Aaron Gillmore. "Flush to the ground and automated, our depot solution eliminates real estate and safety concerns that come with pedestals and cables. Josephine represents another step towards a much-needed simplification of charging infrastructure."

Expected to be operational by mid-2023, the four WAVE systems will power four Complete Coach Works (CCW) zero-emission propulsion system (ZEPS) buses.

"The 125kW depot system is based on the proven 250kW opportunity charging systems installed at transit agencies across the U.S," said Mike Masquelier, WAVE's Chief Technology Officer. "Bus operators just park over the charging pad, and the system takes care of the rest. When the batteries reach the targeted charge level, the system powers down, and the bus is ready to go. This translates into operational efficiencies that simply aren't possible with plug-in systems."