“Clean, quiet, efficient” is the slogan on Aschaffenburg’s first hydrogen waste disposal vehicle. The vehicle was officially handed over by the manufacturer on Thursday, 16 November at the municipal utility company’s waste disposal plant. “This really is a pilot project in the Bavarian Lower Main region and we are all excited to see how the vehicle will prove itself in use,” says Stefan Maunz, Plant Manager at Stadtwerke.
The use of the vehicle for waste disposal is another milestone towards emission-free transport. The vehicle runs fully electrically on electricity that is continuously generated in the fuel cells from the refuelled hydrogen. A particular advantage for citizens and refuse collectors is that the vehicle will be very quiet and also produce significantly less particulate matter and CO2 than conventional diesel-powered refuse collection vehicles.
“One tank of the vehicle will definitely last for a day, which would be around 8 kg of hydrogen,” emphasises Dirk Nagel, Head of Waste Management. Organic waste, residual waste and paper can be collected. The hydrogen refuelling station at the transport company is now under construction so that the vehicle can soon be refuelled there. Refuelling at 700 bar will take around 10 minutes. The batteries have a guaranteed service life of eight years.
Daniel Vick, sales representative at Faun Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG, reports that the company is ready Daniel Vick, Sales Representative at Faun Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG, reports that the company has already delivered around 120 hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles throughout Germany this year.
The hydrogen refuse collection vehicle is just one part of the hydrogen strategy that the regional players have been pursuing for several years. This includes plans for the region’s own green hydrogen production and, above all, the connection to a hydrogen pipeline that will cross the district of Aschaffenburg near Alzenau. Supplying hydrogen from this pipeline would enable AVG, together with other regional network operators, to plan, construct and operate a “Bavarian Lower Main hydrogen pipeline”.
The municipal utilities have also already ordered twelve hydrogen buses, which are to be delivered from 2024. All of this is possible thanks to extensive government subsidies. In the case of hydrogen refuse collection vehicles, the funding amounts to 90% of the additional costs compared to diesel refuse collection vehicles.
The cost of the new waste disposal vehicle is around 860,000 euros, the TV Mainfranken reported.
Photo of Stadtwerke Aschaffenburg
Press release https://is.gd/CbljCf