Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid Bus Debuts in Vienna

As we told you at the beginning of May, German manufacturer Mercedes Benz was getting ready to release its Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid bus at the UITP Congress in Vienna. This weekend, the first vehicle in Daimler's new generation of fuel cell buses has made its debut, promising performance derived from the combination of features taken from the diesel-electric Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid and those of the hydrogen-powered Citaro fuel cell buses.

“As the world’s largest bus manufacturer with a claim to technological leadership, we always strive to be at the forefront of developments leading to zero-emission local public transportation,” Hartmut Schick, Daimler Buses head said at the event.

The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is a zero emission vehicle, based on existing technology. It shares with the Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid the axles fitted with electric hub motors, lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, and all electrically powered auxiliary components. The fuel cell systems used is the same with those installed in the Mercedes-Benz B-Klasse F-CELL passenger car, set to enter production, in limited numbers, later this year.

As if zero emissions isn't enough, the FuelCELL Hybrid uses a regenerative braking system which allows it to achieve hydrogen savings of between 10 and 25 percent, depending on the traffic conditions and terrain.

Daimler will build a limited number of around 30 vehicles of the new bus, which are to be offered to European mass transit companies. Starting fall, the company will conduct large scale tests of the bus in some European cities.

“Our new fuel cell hybrid bus is the next step on the road to zero-emission transportation. The objective of this development is to emphasize our technological leadership on a sustained basis,” added Schick.