Every now and again our faith is restored in new technologies which up until a few years ago seemed to still be very much in the concept phase.

Today in Hamburg in the north of Germany I stepped onto a Hybrid fuel cell bus for the first time. I didn’t actually know it was a “0 emissions” bus until I spotted the  screens depicting the real – time vehicle energy cycle and remaining battery charge.

My short 15 minute journey was completely silent and vibration free. I was fascinated by how this technology has already reached European public transport systems.

After researching the topic I realised that these busses have been in service in Hamburg since Summer 2011. They boast technologies such as energy recovery and storage in lithium ion batteries and wheel hub motors offering a continuous output of 120kW.

The bus holds 35 kilograms of hydrogen in total and has a range of about 250km. The fuel cells are designed for an extended service life of 6 years or 12,000 hours.

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