Hamburg – elexity


There are a total of 527 buses on 154 lines in Hamburg and its‘ surrounding area. The majority of the Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH) fleet still drives with diesel or hybrid drive. But that was to change to procure exclusively electric buses from 2020 onwards. Until 2030, the conversion to electromobility will be completed in Hamburg.

The use of electrically driven buses helps to avoid environmentally harmful CO2 emissions. The public transport operator VHH procured 60 electric buses for the Borough of Bergedorf to be charged with locally generated renewable energy. That is why one of the first electric bus workshops in Northern Germany was built here (2018). VHH has invested around € 10 million in the modern workshop in Bergedorf, which is specially designed for the maintenance and repair of electric buses. At the same time, the existing processes at the warehouse were adapted and the employees of VHH were trained to be fit for e-mobility.

The electric buses in Bergedorf require a modern charging infrastructure as well as smart charging management. VHH enters new territory at this point and has set itself the goal of creating clear technical foundations and standards as quickly as possible. To power the e-buses, the company decided to use the overnight charge system. This system could also help solve renewable energy storage problems. The electricity that could not previously be fed into the grid, finds an optimal application and can be used by VHH to operate the e-buses.

If you want to read more about the benefits, lessons learned, and facts and figures please see here.