Sustainable bus travel generates high-quality urban living standards
Towns and metropolitan cities are steadily increasing in size. All around the world. According to the forecast of the UN’s State of World Population report, over two thirds of the world's population will be living in metropolitan areas by 2050.
In order to maintain the living standards under these conditions, a change towards sustainable urban transportation is indispensable: Noise, particulate and pollutant emissions must be reduced and eliminated entirely in the long run. Climate-neutral mobility solutions with zero emissions will define the concepts of the future.
Electromobility plays a key role in the sustainable design of public transport. This is what we believe at MAN. We offer support and advice to transport companies and municipalities who are switching over to alternative mobility solutions. Today, this already encompasses the development of viable concepts, and will in future be followed by efficient, practical solutions for vehicle technologies - including reliable MAN services.
“At MAN we are convinced that by 2030, 60 per cent of local public transport will operate on electric vehicles.”
Joachim Drees, CEO MAN Truck & Bus SE
Forging ahead with climate protection
With the rise of electromobility, the switch from low emissions to no emissions is now within reach for urban transport.
Securing quality of life
Battery-powered electric vehicles ease the burden on cities and their inhabitants. They reduce noise and particulate emissions to a minimum.
Putting the future within reach
Sustainable and efficient: With MAN’s solutions for eMobility, municipalities and transport companies shape the urban traffic system of tomorrow.
MAN M-PULSE: Sustainable mobility and efficient transport solutions
With the innovative motto M-PULSE, pioneer and visionary MAN delivers the deciding impulse for the transport world of tomorrow. At the core of this new motto lies sustainable mobility, an emission-free future and the discovery and implementation of efficient and economical transport solutions.
Comprehensive consulting to make your switch to alternative drive systems a success
The journey towards zero-emission mobility poses a series of challenges to transport companies, fleet operators and municipalities, which go beyond the vehicle itself.
The conversion of an existing fleet to electric buses places high demands on fleet management: the establishment of a charging infrastructure, operational planning and much more. We are here to help, offering you comprehensive advice and consultation services:
MAN Transport Solutions is a specialised consulting team for customised and cost-effective transport solutions. With your specifications in mind, our specialists develop tailored concepts and solutions – from vehicle application and route optimisation to mapping out the ideal charging infrastructure and power supply.
The reliable and cost-effective utilisation of eBuses requires precise planning down to the smallest details. One of the principal factors in this is to optimally adapt the route network or the vehicle application to the requirements of electromobility. With the help of simulations and location-specific analyses, our mobility experts can ideally match the range and charging cycles of the vehicles to the specific cycle requirements.
This means that already existing bus lines and routes can be easily switched to electric buses, although in some cases it might be necessary to adapt the routes or cycles. Furthermore, our experts’ recommendation for intermediate charging of the battery helps to expand the daily mileage.
Charging technologies and power management
Fleet management and power supply are very important factors when it comes to electromobility. One of the key roles in this is played by the development of a customised charging system. This allows for a cost-optimised structuring of the charging and power infrastructure for public transport services and avoids expensive peak loads.
In addition, intelligent charging systems allow public transport services to profit from more economic energy prices and a reduction in operating costs. Our simulations of the operation and charging processes of eBuses offer you an insight into demand-based charging technologies and the equipment required at vehicle depots. Our MAN consulting team then use this data to develop individual solutions for charging strategies and energy management.
Service processes and consulting services
MAN Transport Solutions offer advice to transport providers and fleet operators regarding which service contracts will guarantee optimum safety and reliability for each specific use case. If maintenance and repair work is supposed to be carried out by in-house workshop personnel, the respective employees must be qualified in handling high-voltage technology. MAN specialists offer the required training, develop service processes and advise you on how to equip your depot and workshop infrastructure accordingly:
MAN ebuses are setting the course towards the future for local public transport
MAN offers transport companies and fleet operators practical and efficient mobility solutions – for diesel-powered buses as well as for vehicles using alternative drive systems, such as in the new sector of electric buses.
The MAN Lion’s City E, MAN's fully electric inner-city bus, sets a good example. With the MAN Lion’s City E, MAN offers its customers an ecological and economical overall concept which not only encompasses the fully electric vehicle but also consultation on infrastructure and services.
Just as conventional vehicles, electric buses must be able to navigate their daily route reliably during scheduled service. In order to achieve the range required for this, an intelligent charging system is absolutely crucial. The choice of charging technology is here just as important as the optimisation of the routes within the network.
A key requirement for eBuses in scheduled urban transport services is that the vehicles can cover a range of up to 200 kilometres without interruptions under real conditions. Bearing this in mind, the most reliable and cost-effective solution currently available is to charge the vehicle batteries while parked at the depot.
This will require optimisation of route networks and an intelligent charging strategy. One alternative to depot charging is opportunity charging, whereby the range of a vehicle can be extended as much as necessary. However, this method requires higher initial investments into the charging infrastructure and comes at the expense of flexibility in terms of integrating the eBuses into the fleet.
MAN Depot Charging
• The charging process runs while vehicles are parked at the depot
• No investment required for additional charging infrastructure along routes
• Increased flexibility, since vehicles will not have to stop at fixed charging stations along their routes
Universal standards for expansive electromobility coverage
In the joint project eBusCS, our specialists work together with developers and manufacturers as well as other expert teams in order to establish universal standards for interfaces and charging technologies. At Man we are convinced that standardisation is a key requirement for an expansive electromobility network.
Universal standards which are recognised across manufacturers and international frontiers are a necessity for the success of electromobility in urban public transport. Common standards for charging and energy-storage technology can offer the operators of city bus fleets – and mixed fleets in particular – the flexibility, interoperability and planning security they need.
MAN specialists partake in a large variety of committees engaged in the development and establishment of a common technology basis for eMobility solutions.
The joint project eBusCS
In the “eBusCS” project promoted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), vehicle manufacturers, system providers and scientific partners develop common solutions for charging electric buses. This is based on the combined charging system (CCS), which has already been successfully introduced in the passenger car sector. Through domain-specific development of interfaces and protocols, project partners make an important contribution towards the establishment of international standards. MAN is also highly engaged in this exchange between manufacturers.
Among others, we are involved in the committees of the VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry), the VDV (Association of German Transport Companies) and the UITP (International Association of Public Transport). Moreover, we support the activities of the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CEN/CELEC).
Press releases on eMobility and sustainability at MAN
Second life energy storage: VHH and MAN testing use of second life of batteries for eBus charging station
Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH) and MAN Truck & Bus are jointly researching the second life of used battery storage systems so that they can be used in electric buses.
MAN plant in Starachowice gears up for electric bus production
Preparations for fully electric vehicle manufacturing are moving to the next level at the MAN city bus plant. Some €27.4 million is being invested in the facility.
