Mercedes delivers 93 natural gas hybrid buses
Mercedes-Benz has delivered 93 Citaro NGT Hybrid buses to the Dutch transport company EBS, which operates city buses in the Rotterdam-Den Haag metropolitan region in the Netherlands. The 83 solo and ten articulated buses are equipped with hybrid gas engines that can also run on bio natural gas.
The electric motor of the hybrid module supports the gas engine (222 kW) primarily at high power requirements when starting up with up to 14 kW power and 220 Nm torque. The hybrid effect is low on paper, but noticeable: By meeting this peak demand, fuel consumption (and thus CO2 emissions) is to be reduced by up to 8.5 per cent. In addition, the buses should be even quieter – given that gas engines are also not as noisy as diesel engines.
Since the hybrid system (in cars one would speak of a mild hybrid) does not have to store energy for long, the Citaro does not require a hybrid battery. The energy generated during braking by recuperation is briefly stored in double-layer capacitors, usually called supercaps, before being released again the next time the vehicle starts up.
Since EBS vehicles are to be used primarily outside city centres, the operator has opted for more comfortable overland seating, where the backrest is significantly higher than on city buses. There are also USB charging ports for the passengers’ equipment and two monitors (three for the articulated bus) for an infotainment system.
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