Sustainable bus systems are the order of the day in Hamburg, Germany, after Hamburger Hochbahn AG acquired four Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrids, with three more to follow next year.
The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid furthers the technology of the hybrid buses that went on trial inHamburgin 2003. They boast energy recovery and storage in their lithium-ion batteries; electrified auxiliary units; more advanced fuel cells; and electric motors in the wheel hubs that have a continuous output of 120kW. The vehicle is also able to run for several kilometres on battery power alone.
As with the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL, the fuel cell stacks are installed on the vehicle’s roof and are accompanied by lithium-ion batteries that store energy during braking.
Thanks to improved fuel cell components and hybridisation with lithium-ion batteries, the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid uses around 50 per cent less hydrogen than the previous generation. Indeed the overall fuel cell system efficiency has also improved – from 48-38 per cent in the previous generation and to 58-51 per cent in the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid. It has a range of 250kilometres.
The demonstration of the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid buses is part of the NaBuZ demonstration project that will take place on Hochbahn’s regular service routes and is integrated into the Clean Energy Partnership.
