The bus manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is presenting comprehensive and sustainable solutions for the electromobility of today and tomorrow in the form of its electric city buses and innovative concepts with hydrogen range extenders. The event takes place on July 12 and 13 in Berlin at the 13th electric bus conference of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV). Experts from transport companies from all over Germany will meet for this event, also known in industry circles as “ElekBu”, which will once again take place as a physical event for the first time since spring 2020. Kay Vollmer, expert in high-voltage systems at Daimler Buses, will provide a presentation on the topic of “Rest areas for safety-critical e-mobility” on July 12 at 5:20 pm. Experts from the eMobility Consulting team will also be on site to enable transport companies to discuss their needs and ideas. A three-door Mercedes-Benz eCitaro will be on display, featuring second-generation high-performance lithium-ion NMC batteries (using nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide chemistry).

From 2023, Daimler Buses will also be equipping its battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro city bus, which has been in series production since 2018, with a hydrogen-based fuel cell as a range extender. Daimler Buses is thus expanding its fully electric product portfolio in the city bus segment with a vehicle that has a range of up to 400 kilometers (solo bus). As currently the only range extender variant of this kind on the bus market, the high-performance low-floor bus with zero local emissions can be driven even on topographically demanding routes and covers practically all range requirements of transportation companies. Another benefit of the new configuration is its optimized weight distribution. This means that the vehicles can accommodate significantly more passengers. The solo bus, for example, has a passenger capacity of 88 persons.

The drive system continues to be based on the very powerful battery of the latest NMC 3 generation. The fuel cell serves only to extend the range and does not function as the main energy source. This means that the vehicle is an all-electric hybrid bus that combines both power sources. Due to the relatively low power requirement of the installed Toyota fuel cell, it can always operate within its optimum performance range and thus achieve a service life of up to 40,000 hours. The hydrogen is used in gaseous form at a pressure of 350 bar, which is already available at many transportation companies today.

A further major advantage for the transformation to e-mobility: Daimler Buses offers much more than “just” modern and high-performance electric buses. On request, the complete infrastructure can be added to the eCitaro, including conversion measures required by depots and charging technology from a single source. For transport companies, this means turnkey e‑mobility with city buses using customized vehicles and equally custom infrastructure from competent planning to timely commissioning.

Daimler Buses is always there for its customers, even after the system integration has been completed. Special e-service contracts by the OMNIplus service brand ensure mobility, including BusDepotManagement, in which OMNIplus employees take over the maintenance and repair work directly in the transport company’s workshop after consultation.

Comprehensive transmission and processing of the wide range of data for monitoring and optimizing operations is also ensured: For this purpose, customers will have access to evaluations provided by the OMNIplus ON Portal and experienced external partners such as IVU Traffic Technologies.

In addition to the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro on display, experts from Daimler Buses will also be presenting digital eServices innovations as part of the OMNIplus ON Portal at info terminals, as well as the path to turnkey solutions for charging infrastructure.

With this clear roadmap and the dual strategy based on battery and hydrogen drives, Daimler Buses is making an important contribution to responsibly shaping the future of urban transport with its overall electromobility system. By developing innovative buses as well as mobility and service solutions, Daimler Buses aims to contribute to making traffic in cities more environmentally friendly and resource-efficient. Sustainable solutions for passenger transport should further improve the quality of life in cities. Daimler Buses is shaping the transport revolution and the local public transport of tomorrow with intelligent mobility solutions already today. This commitment harmonizes with Daimler Buses’ sustainable business strategy.