Germany: Emission-free buses are coming

On the way to a climate-friendly public transport network, investments are being made in sustainable mobility services in many places in Germany. In the city of Duisburg in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Duisburger Verkehrsgesellschaft (DVG) also wants to provide citizens with a more environmentally conscious bus service and is testing new forms of propulsion. With the goal of having its own CO2-neutral buses in operation by the mid-2020s, a hydrogen bus is currently on a test run. Initially, the hydrogen-powered bus developed by the manufacturer Solaris will be on the road for ten days.  

The Solaris test bus will be put to the test on both short- and long-haul routes to observe and test its driving behaviour and any necessary adjustments to the line infrastructure. Equipped with a fuel cell, which then powers the vehicle directly or via a battery, a range of up to 350 kilometres should be possible. "However, it is not yet possible to foresee", says Marc Schwarzer, head of the bus and coach department at DVG, "whether hydrogen or other drive technologies will prevail in local public transport". Above all, the prices still represent a hurdle for many urban transport companies. Compared to a diesel bus, a hydrogen bus still costs two to three times as much. The price of a diesel bus is around 250,000 euros. 

For this reason, DVG remains open and plans to explore further possibilities on an ongoing basis. The city's goal is to find a solution for emission-free local bus transport, which could be implemented in the long term. For example, the transport company has already been operating its first electric bus line since this year - although the number of vehicles is limited to seven. The current test with hydrogen is also not a first for Duisburg, in that such a drive system was already subjected to a city-wide trial in 2021.  

On the other side of Germany, too, the authorities want to put more environmentally friendly public transport services on the roads and thus try to achieve the best possible effect for climate protection. In Saxony in particular, cities such as Dresden and Leipzig are currently pushing ahead with a conversion to electric and hydrogen engines. In preparation for the 185 electric and hydrogen buses coming in 2037, the city of Leipzig has already opened a new bus station with 50 charging stations this June. In Dresden, on the other hand, the first battery-electric buses have already arrived this month.  

Especially in the inner cities, where the effects on climate protection are felt the most, such more sustainable mobility alternatives are to be increasingly used. Not only as part of basic local transport, but also as part of tourist city tours. If Germany's large and small cities want to find their place in the green mobility of the future, no form of local transport can be ruled out, he said. Starting with a climate-neutral design of bus routes in city centres, the German states could take the necessary step in the transport turnaround - and prepare for the coming bans on internal combustion engines and expansions of the German environmental zone network.