Europe’s first Trolley-Battery-Hybrid-Bus operating in Eberswalde
With the delivery of a new Solaris/Cegelec bus in June 2012, Eberswalde (Germany) received an innovative and far unique vehicle: a trolley-battery-hybrid-bus, the first of its kind in Europe!
The new bus is different from existing hybrid trolleybuses that run on electricity and diesel – some in addition being equipped with supercapacitor batteries. The diesel engine has been replaced by a lithium-ion battery, the system is now featuring two fully electric drive systems. The bus can receive power either via the catenary or the lithium-ion battery. On short distances, for example in the depot, the bus can additionally run on supercapacitors – the third electric drive system. All three systems have in common that they make the bus 100 % emission-free.
Other benefits relate to passenger comfort. While in regular trolley-hybrid buses passengers recognise the switching procedure between the engines, this is not the case for the new fully electric trolley-battery-hybrid-bus. Switching between the two systems happens unnoticed.
In test mode the new bus was able to run over a distance of 18 km – powered only by the battery. In theory a distance of even 28 km could be reached. In daily operation, however, the bus will be able to cover a wireless distance of 5 km. Charging energy for this distance – via the catenary – takes ca. 20 minutes.
A total of 12 new trolleybuses were ordered by Eberswalde in 2009 from the manufacturers Solaris/Cegelec and are delivered gradually – one of them being the innovative trolley-battery-hybrid-bus.
The innovation has been implemented in the framework of the CENTRAL EUROPE project TROLLEY - co-financed by the ERDF.
Download the info sheet (in German only).
More information: www.bbg-eberswalde.de
Picture source: Barnim Bus GmbH
