Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid Bus Hits Hamburg Streets

19 November, 2009 11:09:00

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Daimler unveiled the first of ten new Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid transit buses in Hamburg.

From next year, no less than ten of the 30 fuel-cell buses that Daimler is producing for European transport operators are destined for the Hamburg transport authority.

In addition, Hamburger Hochbahn will take delivery of 20 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL cars starting 2010, which are also equipped with a fuel cell drive system.

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 roll-out is a follow-up to two successful projects undertaken by the European Union - CUTE (2003) and HyFLEET:CUTE (2009). In the HyFLEET:CUTE project, a total of 36 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses equipped with the second-generation fuel cell drive systems demonstrated their ability to function reliably over a combined 140,000 hours of operation where they traveled 2.2 million kilometers for 12 public transport agencies on three continents.

The company says that the Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid and the B-Class F-CELL successfully follows the cost-effective principle of using common parts. Components such as fuel cell stacks can be used as modules for both cars and commercial vehicles, for example: the new Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid bus is e.g. powered by two fuel cell systems of the same type used in the B-Class F-CELL.

Thanks to improved fuel cell components and hybridization with lithium-ion batteries, the Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid consumes almost 50 percent less hydrogen compared to the preceding generation. The operating range of the fuel cell bus is around 250 kilometers. The fuel cell drive system is also practically maintenance-free, and has a long operating life.

With its Shaping Future Transportation global initiative, Daimler is setting the standards for the zero-emission commercial vehicle of the future. The Shaping Future Transportation initiative includes using resources sparingly and reducing emissions of every kind while at the same time guaranteeing maximum traffic safety.

The Citaro FuelCELL-Hybrid, developed with the support of the European Union, plays a major role in this.

In this large-scale project for the use of fuel cell technology in Hamburg, Daimler is cooperating with the city council as well as with Shell, Total und Vattenfall Europe. The aim is to accelerate the creation of an emission-free vehicle fleet and establish an appropriate infrastructure of hydrogen filling 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).

As part of this cooperation, four public filling stations with hydrogen pumps are to be constructed in Hamburg, enabling fuel cell vehicles to be refuelled within minutes. Thanks to the high hydrogen pressure of 700 bar, their operating range will then exceed 400 kilometers. This large operating range will make locally emission-free fuel cell vehicles fully suited to long-distance operations.

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