The German city of Hamburg will soon be home to two new tram-buses, both of which will be powered by electricity.
The tram-buses will be produced by Belgian company Van Hool, an industrial vehicle manufacturer, and will be delivered to the city in early 2016. They will run on one of the busiest routes in the city, the Hamburg M3 line.
The two buses will charge overnight in the depot of VHH, the local public transport company. They will also have the possibility to charge at either end of the M3 route for 40 minutes if needed. Innovatively, the buses will produce part of the required energy themselves: electric power created by applying the brakes will be stored in the battery and re-used on the vehicle’s return journey.
Filip Van Hool, CEO of Van Hool said: ‘The combination of advanced technology integrated into high-comfort vehicles with a distinctly contemporary design appeals to customers all over the world’.
Between 2015 and 2019, Van Hool will lead a consortium of 14 partners to realise 21 hydrogen fuel cell buses in the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. The project, named 3Emotion, will run for five years with a total value of € 41.8m. The European Commission will contribute € 15m.
Original author: Alexia
