Ekoenergetyka’s Axon Easy charging stations are transforming urban mobility in Gorizia and Grado: 20 charging points support a growing fleet of 16 electric buses, contributing to APT Gorizia’s green journey, which enables sustainable travel.
With over forty years of history, APT Gorizia has ensured efficient connections between cities, neighborhoods, and small towns, linking schools, workplaces, services, and tourist attractions. The company connects the Trieste Airport intermodal hub with the main cities in the region and, during the summer season, plays a key role in land and sea mobility to the seaside destinations of Friuli Venezia Giulia..
Roberto Bassanese, Operations Director of APT Gorizia, states:
"APT has long been committed to a concrete sustainability path, aiming to reduce emissions and promote a cleaner, more efficient mobility system. With GO!2025, our new electric buses, featuring the Go Borderless livery inspired by the Isonzo River, connect Nova Gorica and Gorizia, while also improving connections with surrounding municipalities and, through the interurban service, Trieste Airport. Furthermore, starting September 2024, urban public transport in Grado will be operated exclusively with electric buses, confirming our commitment to 100% green mobility."
The charging hubs are currently structured as follows:
- Gorizia Hub: 8 Axon Easy 60 kW charging stations and 2 Axon Easy 120 kW stations, providing 16 charging points with a total output of approximately 600 kW.
- Grado Hub: 2 Axon Easy 60 kW stations with 4 charging points, providing a total output of approximately 120 kW.
Both hubs are designed to ensure increasingly efficient and sustainable urban and cross-border public transport. Thanks to strategic route planning and efficient battery autonomy management, buses can follow an optimized schedule that ensures continuous service while minimizing the need to return frequently to the hub for recharging. This enhances operational efficiency and positively impacts vehicle availability for citizens.
Moreover, with the integrated remote management software provided by APT Gorizia, it is possible to schedule charging, manage power output, and even precondition the cabin for heating or cooling according to seasonal needs. This is fully compatible with Ekoenergetyka’s smart charging and pre-conditioning system.
By 2025, the fleet will consist of 16 electric buses operating between Gorizia and Grado. Overnight charging is a key element of the system, with most buses recharging during the night. This approach not only optimizes energy consumption but also reduces the impact on the electricity grid during peak hours, ensuring that every bus is ready to depart in the morning without service interruptions.
During the day, the charging system provides flexible top-ups during operational breaks, allowing buses to continue running without range issues, maintaining high reliability of public transport service and further reducing downtime.
Renato Urcia Larios, Key Account Manager at Ekoenergetyka, states:
"We are proud to be part of this transformation and to support a project where innovation meets responsibility. Our collaboration with APT demonstrates how it is possible to build a cutting-edge, sustainable urban mobility model for the benefit of both citizens and tourists."
But what does the future of mobility look like in Gorizia and Grado?
APT’s ecological transition project is part of the PREPM (Programma Operativo di Rinnovo Evolutivo del Parco Mezzi) approved by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region in March 2023. With dedicated funding, it foresees the replacement of 76 vehicles (42 interurban and 34 urban) by 2030, introducing electric buses (urban services in Gorizia and Grado), hydrogen buses (urban Monfalcone), and LNG buses (interurban), along with the related infrastructure for energy supply, recharging, and production (H₂). This will increase the green share of APT’s fleet from 19% to 58%, reaching 81% in urban services.
The plan includes expanding the Gorizia and Grado charging hubs and creating new state-of-the-art hubs in the Gorizia area, all equipped with Ekoenergetyka charging stations. APT’s current BEV sector for buses and charging in Gorizia and Grado has been activated through both company commitment and PR FESR 2021–2027 funds.
These smart and scalable solutions are at the core of Ekoenergetyka’s centralized charging system, making it an ideal choice for electric bus fleets. APT Gorizia and Ekoenergetyka show how cities can transform public transport systems into models of sustainability, efficiency, and environmental care.