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NedStack to develop and supply fuel cell and hydrogen system
The starting signal was given on Thursday 20 November 2008 for the development and delivery of a total of four Phileas hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles each with a length of 18 metres. This is a world’s first because this is not just the first Phileas hydrogen and fuel cell but it is also the first hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle with a length of 18 metres. Up until now only hydrogen and fuel cell buses have been built which had a length of up to 13.5 metres. Two Phileas buses are intended for GVB (Municipal Transport Company) in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and two for the RVK (‘Regional Verkehr Köln’) in Cologne (Germany).
Technical innovation – good for the environment
There is a joint venture between the Dutch government and the regional government of the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia in Germany in the field of technical innovation for clean public transport. The first project in this joint venture is the development of the 18-metre Phileas on hydrogen and fuel cells. The project has been split into two parts as there are minor differences between the Phileas buses intended for Amsterdam and those for Cologne. The energy storage for the Amsterdam Phileas is done by way of super capacitors. In the vehicles for Cologne use will be made of a battery system for energy storage.
A vehicle which runs on hydrogen and fuel cells can call itself a zero admissions vehicle. There are in fact no harmful emissions because the only emission consists of pure water. An additional environmentally-friendly aspect of the new generation of hydrogen and fuel cells systems is the fact that they use 50% less energy. Also, hardly any noise is produced The first Phileas on hydrogen and fuel cells will be delivered at the end of 2009. The last of the vehicles will be delivered in May 2010.
Phileas
The Phileas was chosen as the platform for the development of the first 18-metre, hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle because the Phileas has a very lightweight construction. Normally, the building-in of fuel cells which are still relatively heavy leads to a loss of seats or standing room because the maximum permitted weight is exceeded. With the Phileas, however, you do not need to make any concessions with respect to the number of passengers to be transported. Depending on the final layout of the vehicle, there will be 105 passengers (at 4 persons per m²) or 140 passengers (at 6 persons per m²).
In addition the Phileas has a modern and futuristic image which fits perfectly with this innovative project.
Partners
- Advanced Public Transport Systems BV (APTS) from Helmond (the Netherlands) is responsible for the production of the Phileas, the integration of the various systems into the vehicle and for the delivery. APTS is part of VDL Bus & Coach bv.
- Vossloh Kiepe GmbH of Dusseldorf (Germany) is responsible for the hybrid drive including energy storage and energy management.
- Nedstack Fuel Cell Technology BV of Arnhem (the Netherlands) is responsible for the development and delivery of the fuel cell system and for the high-pressure hydrogen system.
- Hoppecke Batterien GmbH of Brilon (Germany) is responsible for the development and delivery of the batteries and for the Battery Management System (BMS) for the Phileas buses intended for Cologne.
In addition, the universities ‘Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen’ and ‘Fachhochschule Köln’ are involved in the project. Students from these universities are actually engaged in following the performance of both the energy management system and the battery system and in reporting on therm.
Arnhem, 10 December 2008
For more information, please contact:
Nedstack Fuel Cell Technology BV
– Jan Piet van der Meer – VP Sales & Marketing
– Irma Ariaans-van Silfhout – Communications&Sales
Telephone: +31 (0)26 319 7632
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