Mercedes to debut new fuel cell bus at public transport conference in June
Despite the Obama administration gutting funding for hydrogen and fuel cells, Daimler is not yet ready to quit the game. Next month at the UITP Congress in Vienna (the World Congress of the International Association of Public Transport) Mercedes-Benz will debut its next generation Citaro FuelCELL hybrid bus. Daimler has been working on fuel cell buses since 1997 and the new buses will be deployed into test fleets across Europe beginning this fall.
Previous generations of Mercedes' fuel cell buses have accumulated more than 1.2 million miles and 135,000 hours of service in field testing. The new bus incorporates technology from the recently introduced Citaro G BlueTec hybrid bus and uses a series hybrid configuration with hub motors and a lithium ion battery. The hybrid powertrain, which relies more on the battery for transient power requirements allowing the fuel cell to run at constant output, cuts fuel consumption by 10-25 percent.
[Source: Daimler]
World premiere at International Association of Public Transport's World Congress in Vienna: Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid bus
* Emission-free, whisper-quiet urban transport solution which also helps conserve resources
* Linear development from NEBUS to the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid
* Components from the Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid
The new Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid bus will have its world premiere from 7 to 11 June at the UITP Congress in Vienna (the World Congress of the International Association of Public Transport). This fuel cell hybrid bus has been developed within the context of the global "Shaping Future Transportation" initiative and is the first representative of the new generation of fuel cell models from Daimler Buses. The outstanding characteristic of the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is its comprehensive environmental friendliness: it emits no pollutants whatsoever while running and is also virtually silent. It is therefore exceptionally well suited to operation in heavily polluted city centres and in metropolitan areas. The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is the next logical step on the path to zero-emission public transport, which Daimler had already announced it would take, and thus represents an important element in the development of the mobility solutions of the future.
Linear development from NEBUS to the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid
Daimler Buses has taken a linear approach to developing this technology: the process started in 1997 with the NEBUS research vehicle – the world's first bus to be equipped with a fuel cell drive system – and has continued via the recently launched Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid with a diesel-electric hybrid drive. The latest development for 2009 is the new Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid. Starting in the autumn, Mercedes-Benz Buses will subject this bus to intensive testing in a large-scale fleet test in several European cities. This test will be conducted along the same lines as the successful CUTE test carried out by the European Union between 2003 and 2006. Since 2003, a total of 36 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses equipped with fuel cell drives have performed outstandingly well in service with 12 public transport operators on three continents as part of the CUTE test, its HyFLEET:CUTE follow-up project and other related testing programmes. In covering a combined total of more than two million kilometres in some 135,000 hours of operation, the buses have impressively demonstrated the suitability of the environment-friendly fuel cell drive for everyday practical use.
Components from the Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid
The new Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid draws on the experience gained with the outstanding performance of the 36 fuel cell test buses. The enhanced fuel-cell system is complemented by an all-new drive system developed in synergy with the Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid. Shared components here include axles fitted with electric hub motors, lithium-ion batteries to store energy, and all electrically powered ancillary components. The entire drive system is designed for the greatest possible efficiency. Thanks to regenerative braking – that is to say, the recovery of braking energy – the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is able to achieve hydrogen savings of between 10 and 25 percent, depending on the traffic conditions and topography.
The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is based on the proven platform of the top-selling Mercedes-Benz Citaro urban bus and features fuel cells powered by hydrogen. Compared with previous fuel cell buses, the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid will consume much less hydrogen thanks to a hybrid drive with a sophisticated control unit. The model thus offers major benefits in terms of resource conservation and reduction of emissions associated with producing the required hydrogen.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jharlan 10:53AM (5/12/2009)
I like to see the development of these new clean technologies, but I have a couple of questions. How clean is the process of producing the hydrogen? And the real kicker is: How much does it cost per passenger mile (including developmental and production costs) as compared to a diesel, a diesel hybrid, and a straight electric version? I know I will take a bunch of crap from you environmental whackos, but a bus company needs to be able to make a profit, and most bus riders won't pay triple to ride a green bus.
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ShaunneyCakes 11:07AM (5/12/2009)
Well, there are actually clean ways to produce hydrogen through electrolysis which can be powered by clean sources. Hydrogen is a long way off in small passenger cars, but in big rigs and buses, this technology can be ready sooner. Though the cost of the bus will be astronomical, there will still be TONS of cities that will buy them to not have to worry about random gas prices. If this bus is available ... there WILL be cities that will buy it.
Electric will work for sedans and trucks, but getting a bus or a big rig to travel a 1,000 miles while hauling a full load is still WAY out of reach for current EV tech. There are only a handful of electric/hybrid big rig trucks on the roads and most work for shipping ports and store chains like Wal Mart.
I would NEVER buy a Hydrogen car, but a Hydrogen bus makes sense.
paulwesterberg 11:39AM (5/12/2009)
Electric will actually work great for slow speed city buses like the one pictured above.
Electrolysis is not a very efficient process, you are better off just using the electricity directly. Today most cheap hydrogen comes from natural gas. And again you are better off just burning the natural gas than converting it to hydrogen and then using a fuel cell to convert the hydrogen to electricity.
harlanx6 11:46AM (5/12/2009)
The question still has not been answered. I repeat, how much cost per passenger mile? How heavy are the poor taxpayers going to have to subsidize these buses with ever higher and higher sales taxes? Sales taxes impact the poor and working classes harder than the rich. I think we are paying over 9% now. It makes it worth while to go into Oregon to shop. A cleaner bus is a good idea, but cost has to be considered. I would be willing to bet they are using C4, not electrolysis to produce the H2, so we don't even know how clean they are. Before the taxpayers (you and I) are asked to subsidize these things these questions need to be asked.
ShaunneyCakes 12:37PM (5/12/2009)
You are asking a question which can't be answered without knowing the cost of the bus (which only Daimler will know). Taxpayer money being used for tech advancement is the way things go. I would say "if you don't like it, then leave..." but EVERY country in the world invests money in technology advancement, so you are out of luck. If your anger is about the budget, complain elsewhere because transportation tech. makes up a VERY SMALL % of it.
win39 1:06PM (5/12/2009)
It all becomes clear. People with environmental concerns are "whackos." You are against technological change because it might cost more in the short term when all that cheap petroleum is still around. You are so out of touch with ordinary people that you are not sure of your own state's tax rate because you have someone to do your shopping for you apparently. You are willing to jump into your vehicle, a large SUV no doubt, and drive to another state to avoid a tax, screw the environment and screw your own state's financial soundness. Sad little conservative.
win39 11:17AM (5/12/2009)
You environmental whackos? What are you doing here? Your questions are decent even if your manners are not. Some of your assumptions are not. I am not aware of any transit system that makes a profit. They are all subsidized by taxpayers as a social good, as are the people who ride their vehicles. There is no danger of fares preventing ridership.
Considering that government support for hydrogen was dropped and immediate utility was cited as the reason regardless of working prototypes, I think that the subtext is that it will take decades to develop a hydrogen supply system that will be any greener than what we have now.
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jake 1:29PM (5/12/2009)
We can't exactly support everything that has a working prototype, we have to evaluate even with the working prototype what kind of role it will play in the real world. The biggest problems with hydrogen is the vehicle manufacturers always hide the costs. Sure we know the general upper limits (millions), but we don't really know the practical limits to how much a hydrogen car will cost, plus there's the infrastructure problem. Then there's the "it's just 10-20 years away" claim they keep throwing out with relatively little to show from it (by same reasoning they suspended plug-in development in CA). And here we have an intriguing alternative (the plug-ins) which can accomplish all of the things hydrogen can, except long range travel (though even here there are improvements we can make, such as rapid charging, battery swapping, range-extenders etc), it makes more sense to invest heavily in this since the plug-ins have demonstrated costs can be affordable (we aren't that far away from an affordable plug-in/BEV, if you have been following the progress).
Of course though I will say it's not a wise idea to cut ALL funding. I think every promising technology deserves at least some funding. They still have some funding for nonautomotive applications but they cut all of it for automotive.
AAM 1:22AM (5/13/2009)
Is this where all the Chrysler Cash went?
Lying Thieves.
No German Products for me & my family EVER!
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russellgeister 9:43PM (5/12/2009)
cost is the major issue here even a small city that operates say 5 to 6 hundred buses is gonna cop 600 million dollar bill and thats just for the busses themselfs my city uses CNG fired diesel buses and they seem to work well and i think a hybrid version will go even further to improve fuel use but there is one bus tech not disscused the good old trolly bus
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