MAN runs hybrid bus in Nuremberg

, the European motor vehicle, engine and mechanical engineering group, has developed a diesel-electric hybrid bus for

, which is equipped with drive-system technology from

.

The prototype vehicle operating in Nuremberg, known as the Lion’s City Hybrid, which also features a special brake energy recovery system, is said to use up to 25 per cent less fuel than conventional buses.

As well as a combustion engine, hybrid vehicles have an electric motor that initially puts the vehicle in motion. The motor also serves as a generator, so that when the vehicle brakes, the kinetic energy is converted into electricity and stored for use later on. Siemens claims that this technology makes hybrid buses ideal for urban use because of their frequent braking and accelerating at stops and traffic lights.

Siemens Automation and Drives connected a diesel engine to an electric power pack consisting of generators, frequency converters, drive motors and transmission components. Depending on the engine’s revolutions per minute, the Siemen’s energy management software regulates the energy flow from the electric or diesel drive and then transfers the energy to the bus drive shaft via the transmission. The energy is stored in capacitors, which is then used to put the vehicle in motion.

MAN hopes to enter the bus into mass production in Europe by 2010.