Daimler Buses announced that starting in 2023, the German commercial vehicle manufacturer will equip its Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric bus with a hydrogen-based fuel cell as a range extender. Accordingly, Daimler Buses has expanded its electrified vehicle product portfolio in the city bus segment with vehicles having a range of up to 400 km. Daimler claims that going forward, these FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) buses will be the only variant in the market for low-deck high-performance buses with zero local emissions that can be driven on topographical routes.

Reported by the official Daimler website on Friday (1/7/2022), another benefit of this new configuration is the optimized weight distribution. This means that the vehicle can accommodate significantly more passengers up to about 88 people. The drive system continues to be based on the very powerful battery of the latest NMC 3 generation. The fuel cell only serves to extend the range and does not serve as the main energy source.

Due to the relatively low power requirements of the installed Toyota fuel cells, these fuel cells can always operate within their optimal performance range and thus achieve a service life of up to 40,000 hours. Hydrogen is used in gaseous form at a pressure of 350 bar, which is readily available in many transportation companies today.

On the other hand, Daimler also claims to be offering a new generation of eCitaro buses equipped with high-performance batteries from the end of 2022. High-energy lithium-ion batteries from proven supplier Akasol will increase the capacity per battery cell by about 50 percent at the same weight and allows a reliable range of about 280 km. The high-energy battery will be used in the eCitaro bus, eCitaro range extender and the Mercedes-Benz eO500U electric bus chassis that was recently introduced from Brazil.

The eCitaro electric bus is a successful model from Daimler Buses which has been in series since 2018. Currently, more than 600 eCitaro buses are in daily use by European customers. Since 2020, the eCitaro has also been used as a articulated bus with a very high passenger capacity. By 2021, nearly one in two electric city buses sold in Germany will be from Daimler.