CaetanoBus receives large order for hydrogen buses

The contract signed by CaetanoBus and Deutsche Bahn is the biggest ever in Europe for hydrogen-powered electric buses. The order for 60 fuel cell city buses is part of Deutsche Bahn’s drive to push ahead with its conversion to a climate-neutral company in line with its goals to phase out its last diesel bus by 2038. DB Regio Bus is the largest provider of bus services in Germany, transporting around 470 million passengers a year.

The H2.CityGold buses are 12 meters long with 34 seats and 47 standing places. The passenger compartment has no steps and offers a 2-meter-wide space for wheelchairs. Numerous electronic safety systems are built-in, for example to warn of a potential collision with vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists. With one refuelling of hydrogen, the vehicles can travel between 350 (winter) and 550 (summer) kilometres, making them an ideal replacement for diesel buses  to operate in urban and inter-urban routes. Moreover, while a purely electric bus has a downtime of 4 to 6 hours to be fully charged, a hydrogen bus only needs about 10 min to be fully refuelled with hydrogen.