Over 500 zero-emission buses to be added to Hamburg fleet

Hamburg public transport operator Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HOCHBAHN) has announced that it is to procure up to 530 emission-free and climate-friendly buses for the years between 2021 and 2025. Manufacturers Daimler Buses (Mannheim), MAN Truck & Bus (Munich) and Solaris (Poznan) were awarded the contract.

Framework agreements are now being concluded with all three manufacturers to regulate the delivery of zero-emission single and articulated battery buses. In addition to vehicles with conventional lithium-ion batteries, vehicles with solid-state batteries will also be procured. 

Henrik Falk, CEO of HOCHBAHN, said: “With the contract, we are laying an essential foundation for the complete conversion of our fleet to climate-friendly drives. For the first time in Germany, we also applied sustainability criteria in the tender. We want to take on a global responsibility in addition to our local responsibility. An important step on the way to real green mobility and a climate-neutral company.”

As part of the tender, HOCHBAHN requested detailed information on sustainability risks and measures in a bid to reduce risk along the entire supply chains of the buses.

There are currently 30 emission-free powered battery buses at HOCHBAHN, and 30 more are expected by the end of 2020.

Markus Dietmannsberger, Project Manager at HOCHBAHN, added: “The range is one of the decisive factors for the use of battery buses. With the values ​​now guaranteed, we can map the operating processes well and have hardly any loss of productivity compared to the conventional diesel bus. The second manipulated variable, the availability of the vehicles for use in passenger operations, is also approaching the level that we set for all of our vehicles.”

Together with other transport companies, HOCHBAHN is also striving to develop and harmonise sustainability criteria across Europe for the procurement of battery buses.