DB is pushing ahead with the conversion to a climate-neutral company and expects to receive the buses by 2026, with the aim of phasing out the last diesel bus in 2038.
On one tank of hydrogen, the H2.City Gold fuel cell electric bus can travel between 350km in the winter and 550km in the summer.
With around 470m passengers a year, the DB Regional Bus division is the largest provider of bus services in Germany and the company plans for the first hydrogen buses to be driving in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein by 2024.
CaetanoBus will supply the hydrogen buses while Toyota will provide the fuel cells.
Since 2019, Toyota’s fuel cell technology has been integrated into the H2.City Gold, which can be refuelled in under nine minutes.
Read more: Toyota, CaetanoBus co-brand hydrogen buses
The buses will fill up with the hydrogen produced regionally by eFarm at filling stations in Husum and Niebüll and will bring 100% emission-free mobility onto the road.
The eFarm project entered into its last phase in 2021, after it put hydrogen buses into practice.
Read more: eFarm project enters final phase with delivery of two hydrogen buses
Evelyn Palla, Board Member for Regional Transport DB, said, “Hydrogen buses are climate-friendly and have another advantage: They are filled up faster than the batteries of a purely electric bus are charged.
“With their long range, hydrogen buses can replace existing diesel vehicles particularly well in rural areas. By ordering 60 hydrogen buses, we are taking another step towards saying goodbye to diesel.”
The 12m-long H2.City Gold vehicles contain 34 seats and 47 standing places.
DB Region Bus previously trialled the H2.City Gold on the streets of Frankfurt in 2021.
Read more: Frankfurt trials hydrogen bus
German-based Stadtwerke Aschaffenburg Verkehrs recently ordered 12 Urbino hydrogen buses from Solaris Bus & Coach.
Solaris claims the buses can carry up to 140 passengers and be able to cover about 250km on a single refill in various weather conditions.
Read more: Solaris receives debut order for 12 hydrogen buses from Germany
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