Hamburger Hochbahn AG places an order for battery fuel cell buses from Solaris equipped with Vossloh Kiepe traction technology

Vossloh Kiepe will supply the complete electric traction system, including the 240 kW motors and power management components for these new zero-emission vehicles.

The use of fuel cells as an energy source gives these modern battery-powered vehicles an exceptionally long range. In addition to the energy stored in the batteries, the electric energy generated in the fuel cells is sufficient to cover the average energy consumption. The new buses will be fuelled with hydrogen when they return to the depot in the evening and the batteries will be charged overnight. The time at which energy is stored in the form of hydrogen is also independent of its time of use. This approach opens up new possibilities for storage and flexible energy use in the context of the current energy revolution. This concept enables a daily driving range of approx. 250 km along a flexible route structure.

In addition to the positive environmental impact of emissions consisting purely of water vapour rather than exhaust gases, the use of fuel cell technology also means that these vehicles emit very low levels of noise and vibrations due to the lack of a combustion engine.

Over the last few years, Vossloh Kiepe and Solaris have jointly implemented various innovative projects in the area of electric mobility, for which they have received the EBUS Award 2012. Solaris electric buses fitted with traction technology from Vossloh Kiepe are already in operation in Braunschweig, Klagenfurt and shortly in Düsseldorf.