At Frankfurt’s municipal bus company ICB (In-der-City-Bus GmbH), the first hydrogen bus has rolled off the transporter and into the depot. This marks the beginning of a new chapter for Frankfurt’s bus transport. “We are looking forward to introducing 13 more zero-emission vehicles into city transport shortly, thus reaching an important milestone on the way to climate-neutral public transport,” explains ICB Managing Director Martin Hulecki.
ICB has ordered a total of 13 hydrogen buses from Solaris. All vehicles are to be delivered by mid-July. The technical upgrading of each vehicle will take place immediately after delivery. At the same time, drivers and workshop staff will be trained. According to plans, test operations on the line will begin in August, followed by regular service on the inner-city M36 line. It runs from the Westbahnhof station across the city centre, over the Main River and to Hainer Weg at the Stadtwald forest. One round trip measures about 23 kilometres, the daily service is about 300 kilometres.
Some technical data
All the new ICB hydrogen buses are Solaris Hydrogen nU12 models. In purely visual terms, the vehicle hardly differs from conventional buses. However, it is about 44 centimetres higher than diesel vehicles, because the technical components are installed on the roof fo the bus.
Thanks to hydrogen technology, the Solaris Hydrogen nU12 only needs a high-voltage battery. The heating system is electric and powered by a heat pump. This means that no additional fossil fuel heating is required and the buses are completely emission-free.
The vehicles are equipped with modern driver assistance systems such as right and left turn assist. They have the MirrorEye system – these are cameras mounted instead of side mirrors that provide better visibility, make manoeuvring in city traffic easier and, above all, mean greater safety for all road users.
Advantages of hydrogen propulsion
With hydrogen technology, the ride is quiet and emission-free, much like the battery-electric buses that ICB already has in its fleet. Only water vapour or water is emitted by fuel cell buses. But they have other advantages: The vehicles have a guaranteed range of 350 kilometres; in comparison, battery buses have to go to the charging station after only 180 kilometres, depending on the model. For longer routes, hydrogen propulsion is currently the only alternative to conventional diesel propulsion. A second important advantage is the charging time: while battery buses have to be charged for up to 6 hours – and are then unusable – hydrogen buses are refuelled within 15 minutes and are immediately ready to drive again.
Funding agreement
The Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Housing has funded the climate-friendly hydrogen technology with funds from the programme “Beschaffung von Elektrobussen für den öffentlichen Personennahverkehr in Hessen” (Procurement of Electric Buses for Local Public Transport in Hesse – HA project no. is 1076/21-78). The funding amount for the 13 buses was 2.4 million euros.
(Info: ICB)
