Aaarghhh!!! It's a BUS. What's that doing on Biglorryblog? Giidditorfff! It's certainly a change from the old Routematser (or indeed the AEC Mercury in which BLB passed his PSV licence---but I don't talk about that) that's for sure...Anyroadup the reason why I'm bloging this is a) I like the artist's drawing which I supect is the work of one of Bertrand Janssen's merry men (BJ being one of BLB's favourite truck designers) and b) because it shows that Mercedes-Benz is headed straight for a clean future (I never doubted it for a miniute) What's more, this June, Mercedes-Benz Buses will present the new Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid model, the CV manufacturer's first fuel-cell hybrid bus. The regular-service city bus marks yet another important milestone on the road to zero-emission vehicles and improved resource conservation as part of Daimler's "Shaping Future Transportation" global initiative. Now click through here for more...
Daimler Buses work on fuel cell PSVs began in 1997 with the NEBUS research vehicle - the world's first bus to be equipped with a fuel-cell drive system. They then moved ahead with the fuel cell Citaro, the Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid equipped with a diesel-electric hybrid drive system, and now the new Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid for 2009.
However, don't think that the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is just another a futuristic study - oh no. It's already a reality, which is why Mercedes-Benz Buses will soon be extensively monitoring its performance in normal operations in a number of major fleets in several European cities. Indeed, since 2003, a total of 36 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses equipped with fuel cell drives have performed outstandingly at 12 public transport agencies on three continents as part of the CUTE test, its HyFLEET:CUTE follow-up project, and other related testing programs. The buses were driven a combined total of more than two million kilometers in a total of approximately 135,000 hours of operation. Their availability - between 90 and 95 percent - impressively demonstrated the environmentally friendly fuel-cell drive's suitability for everyday use in urban regular-service buses.
The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is based on the proven platform for the top-selling Mercedes-Benz Citaro city bus. The new model's fuel cells are powered by hydrogen, whereby hydrogen consumption in the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid will be much lower than in previous fuel cell buses, thanks to a hybrid drive with a sophisticated drive system control unit. The model thus offers major benefits in terms of resource conservation and reduction of emissions associated with producing the required hydrogen---in other words completely exhaust-free and virtually silent in the city.
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