Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) has launched a pilot test for charging e-scooters using energy recovered from the metro.
The project at Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica station consists of nine modular lockers that can be used as battery charging points by recouping energy generated from the braking metro trains.
These lockers, supplied by the company MyLock, are located at the station entrance, which gives access to the platforms of the Line 4 Barcelona metro station.
“This installation responds to the mobility needs of city-dwellers, and combines the use of public transport with that of personal mobility devices, while making an efficient use of energy,” Laia Bonet, President of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) told Zag Daily.
It forms part of TMB’s Metro and Bus Energy-Efficiency and Saving Plan to recover and reuse surplus energy that is lost during the activity of the transport service.
The service, which people will ultimately pay for, is now entering its initial testing stage, and will allow students at the Pompeu Fabra University – a building next to the Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica station – to test it for free. The general public will also be able to access the service with a 50% discount.
As of 24 October, the promotions for testing the service will end and users will be able to access it by paying the full amount.
This 12-month initiative is based on an entrepreneurial challenge that TMBInnova launched among its employees. A call was made, adopting the slogan ‘Station of the Future,’ for several workers’ teams to respond to the integration of leisure, connectivity, comfort and interaction at metro stations, to improve the experience of thousands of the service’s daily users.
