First hybrid fuel cell bus unveiled for new fleet in Hamburg
T he new Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid bus has made its first appearance in its future operating location of Hamburg in Germany. From next year the Hamburg transit agency will operate 10 of these fuel cell hybrid buses, as well as 20 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL fuel cell cars.
The next-generation FuelCELL-Hybrid bus was unveiled in the summer [FCB, August 2009]. From next year, 10 of the 30 vehicles that Daimler Buses is producing for European transport operators are destined for the Hamburg transport authority, Hamburger Hochbahn.
The Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid is taking part in large-scale fleet trials which are due to take place in Hamburg and other European cities. This is a follow-up to the successful European Commission-supported CUTE and HyFLEET:CUTE projects, which ran between 2003 and 2009.
The Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid bus and the B-Class F-CELL car both follow the costeffective principle of using common parts. Components such as the PEM fuel cell stacks can be used as modules for both cars and commercial vehicles.
Furthermore, improved fuel cell components and hybridization with lithium-ion batteries, mean that the Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid consumes almost 50% less hydrogen than the preceding generation of vehicles. The operating range of the new fuel cell bus is around 250 km (155 miles).
In this latest large-scale project for the use of fuel cell technology in Hamburg, Daimler is cooperating with the city council as well as Shell, Total and Vattenfall Europe. The aim is to accelerate the creation of a zero-emissions vehicle fleet, and establish an appropriate infrastructure of hydrogen fueling stations.
The project is part of the Clean Energy Partnership in Hamburg and Berlin. It is being supported by the federal German government, as part of the National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP), which is coordinated by NOW GmbH.
As part of this cooperation, four public hydrogen fueling stations are to be constructed in Hamburg, enabling fuel cell cars to be refueled within minutes. The cars' high-pressure hydrogen storage at 700 bar (10 000 psi) means that their operating range will exceed 400 km (250 miles), amd make these fuel cell cars fully suited to long-distance operations.