Electreon will provide Electra Afikim with wireless charging infrastructure that will enable simultaneous charging of 30 buses, 24 hours a day.
BEIT YANAI, Israel & TEL AVIV, Israel – Electreon, the leading provider of wireless and in-road electric vehicle charging technology, has signed an agreement of cooperation with the public transportation company Electra Afikim. As part of the agreement, Electreon will provide Electra Afikim with wireless charging infrastructure that will enable simultaneous charging of 30 buses, 24 hours a day. The deal is a result of a call for proposals issued by Israel’s National Public Transportation Authority in the Ministry of Transportation to public transport operators, to procure and establish infrastructure to electrify buses. The ministry was a partner in arranging the parking lot for electric charging with the Rosh HaAyin municipality and invested about $2.9 million in the project.
As part of the agreement, Electreon will provide maintenance, support, and operation services for the next 12 years. The cost of the deal is $1.9 million; it will cover the fleet’s activity and includes 30 buses. In addition, Electra Afikim will bear the cost of the electricity. Electra Afikim is the fourth largest bus operator in Israel with roughly 1,400 buses. The municipality of Rosh Hain played a key role in the agreement as part of it policy to promote clean electric transportation in the rapidly growing city
This is the second commercial deal signed by Electreon in Israel. The previous, with Dan bus company in October 2021, includes the sale of wireless charging services for 200 buses. The company estimates that the Electra Afikim agreement has potential for future expansion, including a significant chance of replication with other operators from Israel and abroad. The deal was done in accordance with the Ministry of Transportation’s decision to change the face of public transportation in Israel, as part of its ban on the introduction of polluting buses from 2025.
The support of the Ministry of Transportation is important especially since the ministry is the entity that finances the public transportation activity in Israel, and the entity that approved the use of Electreon’s wireless charging. The approval given will allow Israeli public transportation operators to duplicate the project and quickly promote green transportation in Israel.
“As a leading public transportation company, we are turning towards green energy,” Oded Cohen, CEO of Electra Afikim. “Since the transition to electrification depends on the allocation of infrastructure, powerful grid connections and prolonged bureaucracy, we were happy to partner with Electreon, which offers a more cost-effective and accessible alternative to charging electric buses. Electra Afikim already operates 25 electric buses on unique BRT lines in the city of Ashdod as part of a sustainable city project and strives to expand the use of green energy buses. This strategy is in line with Electra Group’s sustainable activities on various levels over the past years. We thank the National Public Transport Authority for promoting the agreement as part of its e policy to electrify public transportation.”
Electreon’s activity in Israel is in line with the company’s business model, as part of its process to promote public transport operators and other commercial fleet operators in the US, Europe, Germany, and France with Electreon’s strategic partner, the infrastructure company, Vinci.
Over the past weeks, Electreon has announced several international deals including a Development agreement for commercial wireless charging projects with Destia, Finland’s leading infrastructure services company. As part of the agreement, the parties will promote commercial public charging projects in Finland, with trucks and wireless distribution vehicles.
