Joining Germany's fast growing fleet of zero-emission buses, transit operator, Rebus Regionalbus Rostock GmbH is onboard with zero-emission service, launching more than 50 fuel cell buses for regional routes in north east Germany, as well as the installation of two hydrogen filling stations in Güstrow and Rostock.
An initial deployment of 15 hydrogen-powered buses entered service in Güstrow and the south of Rostock in early October 2024, with the remaining 37 units introduced before the end of the year. The H2erO "Klimahelden", or 'Climate Hero', fleet is made up of 47 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen and five Urbino 18 hydrogen zero-emission buses – all powered by Ballard fuel cell engines.
The Urbino 12 integrates Ballard's FCmove®-HD 70kW rooftop fuel cell engine, and the bus is already in service on routes in other German localities including Cologne, Munich and Hamburg. Ballard's FCmove®-HD+ 100kW module drives Solaris' Urbino 18, and, in addition to Güstrow, is currently in operation in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria.
The zero-emission fleet deployment is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) who contributed nearly €18m in funding as part of the "guideline for the funding of alternative drives for buses in passenger transport"; while the district of Rostock has also delivered €7.8m for vehicle costs. Total investment from the various partners in the initiative amounts to roughly €40m.
Rebus is responsible for public transport throughout the administrative district of Rostock, clocking up approximately nine million kilometers in service with its 180-vehicle fleet across 82 regional and city lines annually.
The Rebus fleet joins the growing number of fuel cell buses on German roads, with more than 200 units currently in operation across the country - including the recent addition of 31 decarbonized bus units to RVK to service public routes in Cologne.