Mercedes-Benz Citaro C2 equipped with 16 semi-flexible photovoltaic panels
Further weight reduction through first-time use of robust double-sided tape
Pilot project marks important step towards reducing CO2 emissions of local public transportation in Hof
Last month the solar technology company Sono Motors launched an innovative pilot project in public transportation in Hof in the north-east of Bavaria. A bus operated by Stadtwerke Hof was equipped with an updated version of Sono Motors’ Solar Bus Kit, a solar retrofit solution for buses.
The installation was carried out for the first time together with ÖPNV-Service Hagen. The expertise of the company extends to the areas of cabling, repair, maintenance and services for local public transportation. The company has more than 15 years of experience as a service provider for local public transport and modernises around 4,000 commercial vehicles every year.
In Hof, a Mercedes-Benz Citaro C2 was equipped with 16 semi-flexible PV panels, the installed power of the modules in total is around 1.4 kWp. To install the modules on the roof of the bus, double-sided tape was used for the first time, with a total weight of only 50 kg for all materials used in the project. The solar power generated in this way is fed into the battery to support the conventional diesel engine and save CO2 emissions. The first HofBus bus with integrated solar bus kit from Sono Motors has been on the road in the city of Hof since it received road approval from the German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV). To serve as a comparison, an identically constructed mild hybrid bus without a PV system is being simultaneously operated. These comparative figures will make it possible to optimally compare driving performance and energy consumption within a certain distance travelled.
Working together to make local public transportation emission-free
"We at Sono Motors are very pleased to partner with HofBus GmbH. We believe the installation of our Solar Bus Kit for the first time on a vehicle from the HofBus fleet will demonstrate what a quick, easy and cost-effective solution the Solar Bus Kit is for sustainable reduction of emissions from public transportation,” says Jona Christians, CEO and co-founder of Sono Motors.
"We are very excited about the results of the pilot project. We hope that it will serve as a model for other environmentally friendly mobility solutions," explained Stadtwerke Hof Managing Director Jean Petrahn. The project is part of Stadtwerke Hof's long-term strategy to promote the switch to electric mobility. The HofBus fleet is to be continuously converted to emission-free power trains in the coming years.
“We are proud to present our first project in cooperation with Sono Motors. We will continue to work with Sono Motors' customer service and logistics in order to maximise production capacity in Europe and offer fast, professional retrofitting and maintenance. We are looking forward to future projects," said Luca Bochhammer, Managing Director, ÖPNV Service.
