Deutsche Bahn has announced a landmark deal to purchase 60 hydrogen buses for its DB Regio Bus division. The German operator has signed a framework agreement with CaetanoBus, a Portuguese bus manufacturer, to provide the H2.City Gold model. These buses will be delivered by 2026, with the first seven vehicles, worth €40m, expected to arrive later this year. The initial batch will be used in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein from early 2024.
The H2.City Gold model measures 12 metres in length and features Toyota fuel cells. CaetanoBus has a pre-existing partnership with Toyota, which has resulted in the Toyota logo being displayed on CaetanoBus’s electric buses. The H2.City Gold offers seating for 34 passengers, with a further 47 standing places. It is also wheelchair accessible and features a two-metre-wide aisle.
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The new hydrogen buses are expected to cover up to 550 kilometres in summer and 350 kilometres in winter on a single tank of hydrogen. Deutsche Bahn believes that hydrogen buses are well-suited to replace existing diesel vehicles in rural areas. Evelyn Palla, a member of DB AG’s Regional Transport Management Board, noted that “hydrogen buses are climate-friendly on the road and have another advantage: they can be filled up faster than the batteries of an electric bus are charged”.
The order was placed with CaetanoBus because DB Regio Bus has previously worked with the company, which provided two of the previous-generation vehicles to DB subsidiary Autokraft. Deutsche Bahn plans to phase out diesel-powered buses by 2038, and from 2030, the company plans to purchase only zero-emission vehicles.
