Hamburger Hochbahn AG has for years been a successful and important partner of science and manufacturers in the field of ‘innovative drive technologies’. The company has now entered into a development partnership with Volvo Bus Corporation for electric hybrid buses, and will operate three vehicles on regular service routes in the hanseatic city from the end of the year.
“The goal is clear: from 2020 we will only order buses with pollutant-free drives. That is ambitious and we have therefore decided to participate even more intensively in the development of innovative drives. In entering into this development partnership we will now move from being an observer to being the driving force in the field of battery bus technology as well”, said HOCHBAHN chairman Günter Elste at the signing of the agreement in Hamburg.
“We are delighted and proud to be able to deepen our partnership with Hamburger Hochbahn AG. This agreement represents an important step towards our common goal – the realisation of low-noise, emission-free and energy-efficient public transportation. We definitely view electromobility as the future of local public transportation”, said president of Volvo Bus Corporation, Håkan Agnevall.
The new buses are diesel-electric hybrid buses that can travel up to 10 km using only electricity. The plug-in technology enables the reduction of fuel consumption and carbon dioxide by up to 75%, compared with current diesel buses. Charging stations at the respective termini of the routes provide for the necessary recharging. The required infrastructure at the termini will be developed and realised by Siemens, technical partner in the project.
“This charging technology is ideally suited because the moveable contact arm is mounted on a mast and lowers down to the contact bars on the roof of the bus. Due to its charging capacity of up to 300 kW, this technology is able to cover the energy demand even in case of the highly demanding operating conditions of electric and hybrid electric buses”, says Andreas Laske, Head of Electric Buses at Siemens.
The three new electric hybrid buses will be used on the new Hamburger Hochbahn AG innovation route.
Volvo Buses has previously signed agreements regarding the implementation of electric hybrid buses or full electric buses with the cities of Gothenburg, Luxembourg, Montreal and Stockholm.
The Volvo Electric Hybrid:
• The bus is equipped with an electric motor which is powered by a lithium-ion battery. It also has a 5-litre Euro 6 diesel engine.
• Charging is done from electricity grids via a collector installed on the roof of the bus.Charging at the end station takes 6-10 minutes.
• The bus will run up to 10 km at a time on electricity only, silent and emission-free.
