At the Daimler Buses eMobility Days 2022, journalists and bus operators from across Europe received the latest information on drive technologies and eService. The Mercedes-Benz Omnibus Magazine got chatting with customers.
Omnibus Magazine
Straight from the horse's mouth.
Customer reactions to the Daimler Buses eMobility Days 2022.
Straight from the horse's mouth.
For a whole week, the Mercedes-Benz Distribution Centre in Mannheim “went live”. During the eMobility Days 2022, Daimler Buses not only presented its latest products and solutions, but also opened up exciting visions of the future of bus electrification. More than 400 journalists, bus operators and employees of transport companies from 20 European countries accepted invitations. The event was also available digitally.
From 2030, new vehicles will all have to be zero-emissions in the city bus sector.
Rok Vihar is enthusiastic: “It’s great to be able to meet with other bus operators after such a long time and exchange ideas.” The head of passenger mobility at the public transport company of the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, wants to find out first hand in Mannheim what Daimler Buses’ e-mobility strategy is all about. Till Oberwörder, Director of Daimler Buses, announced a clear electrification strategy: “In Europe and Latin America, by 2030, we want to offer carbon-neutral options for all of our sectors, that is, coaches, city and intercity buses. From 2030 at the latest, we will only offer carbon-neutral vehicles for the European city bus sector and no longer invest in Euro VII”, he stated. “We will concentrate our development efforts fully on a zero-emissions, fully electric eCitaro.”
NMC3 batteries for even greater range.
These and other announcements find a receptive audience – in Vihar and others. Franco Viola also reacts positively to the information that the eCitaro will be fitted with the new NMC3 batteries from the end of 2022. “Because of our long daily runs of 300 kilometres and more, the range of batteries plays a very important role for us,” explains the General Director at SVT from Vicenza, Italy. Karl Orton, Technical Director at the Swedish bus operator Keolis, also welcomes the new battery technology: “For us in Sweden, range is a decisive factor. I am very glad that Daimler buses is now able to offer the right solution for every customer demand with its new battery generation, with larger capacity and modular, extensible sizes.”
“Because of our long daily runs of 300 kilometres and more, the range of batteries plays a very important role for us.”
New solutions – and not just in drive technology.
But the innovations don’t stop there: in three workshops, so-called “Deep Dives”, the participants got deeper insight into further innovations and new services relating to Mercedes-Benz electric buses. These included the new eCitaro Range Extender, which will celebrate its première in 2023. This is a hydrogen-operated fuel cell with 60 kW power, which can deliver electricity as needed to charge up the batteries. This will increase the range of an eCitaro solo bus to 400 kilometres, and an articulated model to 350. “A very interesting concept for long routes, especially for articulated buses. Even if there are still many open questions about hydrogen supply to transport companies,” says Rok Vihar. “But anyway, here in Ljubljana, the city is planning to build a hydrogen fuel station. So in this case, I would consider the eCitaro with battery drive and a fuel cell range extender to be a very good solution. Even better than a pure hydrogen drive, as green hydrogen is still very expensive.”
“For us in Sweden, range is a decisive factor.”
Solutions for the implementation of e-bus operating systems.
A further topic for deeper scrutiny is offered by Daimler Buses in the second workshop under the title “eMobility Systems”. These so-called “turnkey solutions” include all consultation and construction services – from the feasibility study and system layout for an electrical bus fleet, through the design of the charging infrastructure, to planning, installation and implementation of a complete e-bus operating system. And all from one provider. “Where planning and infrastructure are concerned, we have already come quite far,” declares Wolfgang Stöttinger, Head of New Technologies at sabtours, based in Wels, Austria. “Getting into electromobility needs an enormous amount of know-how from very different areas, with which bus companies have not frequently had to deal before. Here, it is helpful to have a partner to provide this knowledge,” Stöttinger states, adding: “I am convinced that many bus operators getting started in electromobility have great interest in such turnkey solutions.”
“Getting into electromobility needs enormous amounts of know-how.”
Digital services from OMNIplus ON.
Digital services for electric buses are the focus of the third workshop at the eMobility Days 2022. eCitaro customers can use the digital services from OMNIplus ON in three stages – from remote diagnosis and operating data recording through connection to their own fleet management system all the way to incorporating partner applications, say, for charging or depot management. It is above all the transport companies’ need for additional vehicle data that is rising rapidly with e-mobility. Public transport employees are particularly interested in the ITxPT virtual data interface, announced at the event. In this way, mixed fleets with many different models can also be networked. “The open system, according to the UITP standard, makes us independent of third-party providers and saves investment in soft and hardware,” a specialist visitor explains.
Happy visitors.
Rok Vihar from Ljubljana is really happy with his visit to the eMobility Days in Mannheim: “I discovered a lot of new things about electric buses, innovative technologies and digital solutions. We are still at the very start of our switch to electric buses. That was why the day was particularly interesting for me.” Getting to share know-how with colleagues from the sector and Daimler Buses experts is an added bonus.
““I found out a lot of new things about electric buses, innovative technologies and digital solutions.””
Recording of the eMobility Days.
E-mobility is playing a central role in the transformation of our company. The Daimler Buses eMobility days, running from 2 to 6 May in Mannheim, gave an overview of the development of the eMobility portfolio and an outlook on the medium and long-term strategy of our company.
