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Green vehicle enthusiasts in Hamburg saw the wave of the public transit future last week with the unveiling of the Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid bus. The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is part of Daimler Auto Group’s 2010 rollout of fuel cell vehicles in Hamburg, Germany. The city’s public transit system will feature 10 Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid buses by December 2010 along with 20 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell fleet cars. These first peeks at a production version of the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid were made possible through years of planning by Daimler, the Hamburg City Council and other partners.
The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid was part of Daimler’s HyFLEET: CUTE trial run in the past six years. This trial period examined the performance of 36 Citaro prototypes in daily operation for 12 transit fleets worldwide. Daimler gathered fuel mileage, power and maintenance across 140,000 hours and 1.4 million miles of operation from 2003 to 2009. The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid acquitted itself well in these tests, demonstrating a 50% fuel savings compared to the first prototype. Daimler representatives state that the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid achieves a 155-mile range thanks to improved fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries. As well, the automaker notes that the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is extremely low maintenance due to its simple drive system.
Daimler AG is currently working with the city of Hamburg as well as private partners like Shell and Vatenfall Europe on a fuel cell infrastructure to aid the Citaro rollout. This collaboration is designed to reduce emissions in Hamburg with hydrogen filling stations and emissions-free transit vehicles. The Hamburg City Council and private partners have funded four hydrogen stations in anticipation of a larger fuel cell vehicle rollout. These fueling stations will be monitored during the initial Mercedes-Benz rollout to assess daily use and technical issues.
Daimler is approaching the rollout of the Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid the best way possible. The six-year trial of the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid throughout the world shows that the technology is ready today. The automaker not only found a customer in the Hamburg City Council but also brought in private companies to simplify the rollout. Daimler and its partners are also working toward a fuel cell infrastructure needed to extend the range of buses and fleet vehicles. In addition to alleviating short-term concerns over the Citaro rollout, Daimler is opening up the possibility of fuel cell passenger vehicles within the next decade.
