The next step for e-mobility at Daimler Buses

Preparing for the market launch of high-output charging, Daimler Buses has equipped its Mannheim bus plant with a central charging station for the fully-electric eCitaro. It can also be used to provide the newly released eCitaro with electricity via a pantograph.

The special feature of this charging station is that the charging devices are suspended at a height of around five metres above the ground. The station serves to charge the eCitaro as part of the production process and ahead of delivery to customers. Plus, new charging technologies such as charging management, new communications protocols, new hardware for charging using a cable or a roof-mounted pantograph can be tried and tested. What's more, the infrastructure is expandable as required.

The charging station is compatible with all common charging technologies: 150 kW cable-bound charging, 300 kW rapid charging using a pantograph on the bus roof and 300 kW rapid charging using a permanently installed set of charging rails on the roof of the bus. In technical jargon, the latter is referred to as an inverted pantograph.

All four parking bays are setup to handle the particularly common cable-bound charging of the eCitaro. And in line with this, it can handle the different charging systems of two manufacturers. Using them, buses can be charged with an output of 150 kW. Two parking bays additionally offer rapid charging via the vehicle roof; one uses a pantograph, the other uses charging rails. In both cases, the charging output is 300 kW. The entire system has a modular design to ensure that it can be expanded as required.

About Daimler Buses

Daimler Buses are perfectly positioned, as they operate numerous production facilities and service centers worldwide. They are a full-line supplier, whose Mercedes-Benz, Setra, and BharatBenz brands cover every requirement in the bus segment. Moreover, their products stand out by offering maximum safety, efficiency, and environmental compatibility. Their OMNIplus and BusStore brands operate a global service network and provide a complete range of services including the purchase and sale of preowned buses.