Home - News - Press Releases - The Minister of Economy for North Rhine Westphalia Christa Thoben gives the green light for the research funding of four 18 m long buses.
 
Document Actions

The Minister of Economy for North Rhine Westphalia Christa Thoben gives the green light for the research funding of four 18 m long buses.

There will soon be two 18 m Phileas city transit bus prototypes in use in both North Rhine-Westphalia and in the Netherlands which, for the first time, will be operated with environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cells.

ÜbergabeUp to now fuel cells have been installed in only 12 m buses. The development of an 18 m fuel cell bus ready for series production is therefore quite a challenge for the German-Dutch consortium. The project is supported by the NRW and Dutch Ministries of Economics and Transport, between which a co-operation agreement exists for the benefit of clean local public traffic. The Minister of Economy Christa Thoben, on February 17, 2009, in a symbolic act, handed over the notification of the grant for research funds to the project partners at Vossloh Kiepe in Düsseldorf. The basics of the bus were also presented.

Fuel cells are a modern alternative to normal diesel drives. They are independent of fossil fuels since they use hydrogen as a source of energy. Fuel cell buses are pollutant-free, especially quiet and thus are a real benefit to an environmentally friendly system of public transport. “This is an important step towards future technology and an environmentally friendly local public transport”, said Minister Christa Thoben. bus

The German-Dutch consortium of Vossloh Kiepe, APTS, Nedstack and Hoppecke will be jointly developing this innovative fuel cell bus. Vossloh Kiepe is responsible for the hybrid outfitting and the bus’s energy management. The Dutch buses are being equipped with supercaps as their energy storage system. The buses for Germany will be used for regional traffic in Cologne and additionally have a battery system for energy storage provided by Hoppecke Batterien GmbH. APTS, a Dutch vehicle manufacturer, is supplying its modern and very appealing Phileas Bus series, chosen because of its modular and lightweight construction. Nedstack Fuel Cell Technology BV located in Arnheim will be responsible for the fuel cell system. The consortium is supported by RWTH Aachen University and the University of Applied Science of Cologne, both of which contribute to the development and usage of the bus.

Düsseldorf, February 2009

Contact:
Martin Schmitz
Vossloh Kiepe GmbH
Tel.: +49 (0)211 7497-454
m.schmitz@vkd.vossloh.com