Germany–The all-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro city bus, which has been in mass production in Mannheim since 2018, is being continuously developed for use in scheduled services. Daimler Buses are also relying on the intelligent combination of battery and fuel cell.
Following the market launch of the battery-electric single and articulated bus variants and the expansion of the portfolio by a solid-fuel battery from 2020, the range is expected to be further increased from 2022 onwards by a fuel cell for generating electricity using hydrogen on board.
The development of this technology is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure under the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology with a total of 3.3 million euros. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Projektträger Jülich (PtJ). The program is intended to support the first products required for a market launch in various fields of application.
The eCitaro with extended range by a fuel cell is charged with electricity and fueled with hydrogen (H2). Battery and fuel cell complement each other perfectly in city bus use. By combining both technologies, almost 100 percent of all coverage requirements for city buses can be met. Thanks to purely electric driving without CO2 emissions, the vehicle makes a positive contribution to achieving the climate targets in the cities.
Source: NOW
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