Berlin, 15.06.2021 – With immediate effect, Berlin's municipal waste management authority BSR is taking a major step towards climate protection by deploying two hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for waste collection. A further 12 emission-free fuel cell vehicles are planned. In the presence of Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, FAUN handed over two of these highly innovative vehicles to Wolfgang Wüllhorst (BSR fleet manager).
FAUN managing director Burkard Oppmann: “We have been working on hydrogen-based climate-neutral drives for many years. Now, the National Hydrogen Strategy has confirmed our commitment to hydrogen as the right choice of fuel for the waste management industry in order to achieve the climate targets. I am pleased that BSR is supporting us in this direction and has chosen us as a partner.”
The vehicles that will be deployed in Berlin are equipped with an 85 KW battery, a 30 KW fuel cell and eight kilograms of hydrogen. This means they are optimally geared towards the waste collection area of the German capital.
Wolfgang Wüllhorst: “We are thrilled that we are now operating emission-free waste collection vehicles in the heavy-duty vehicle class that are also extremely quiet. We attach great importance to the fact that the vehicles fulfil the same performance requirements as diesel vehicles. In addition to the necessary range, the payload of 11 tonnes is particularly important in this respect.”
This project received funding support amounting to almost 25 million euros from the “Clean Air Immediate Action Programme 2017-2020” and from funds of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure’s (BMVI – Bundesministerium für Transport und digital Infrastruktur) Electric Mobility Funding Guideline. The programme is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ).
Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer: “Hydrogen, fuel cells and electricity are moving the future. This is what we need right now, on the roads, for real. Today we are providing 4.5 million euros in funding support for 14 environmentally friendly and quiet waste collection vehicles that are powered by fuel cell systems, out of a total of 170 approved electric vehicles for the BSR. These vehicles will be subsidised with funds totalling 23.7 million euros, which will provide thousands of Berlin residents with relief from noise and exhaust fumes!”
The vehicles were developed by FAUN, a manufacturer of waste collection vehicles and sweepers based in Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Lower Saxony.
FAUN CEO Patrick Hermanspann: “15 years ago, we first began to look at alternative drive systems. I am pleased that hydrogen is now receiving the attention it deserves. This is the future of climate-neutral load transport.” FAUN aims to have up to 12,000 hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles in operation by 2026. To this end, it has joined forces with industry partners in the Clean Hydrogen Coastline project to feed up to 400 megawatts of electrolysis capacity with corresponding storage of hydrogen into the energy system within five years.
About FAUN
- FAUN Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG, based in Osterholz-Scharmbeck north of Bremen, is part of the KIRCHHOFF Group and a specialist in waste collection vehicles and sweepers.
- The family-owned company employs around 2,000 people, the majority of whom work in the nine plants in Europe, Turkey and Australia. The group has a turnover of around 495 million euros.
About BSR
- Orange on the outside, “green” on the inside. Sustainability is part of the BSR fleet programme. A large part of the fleet consists of gas or electric-powered vehicles. Our goal is to reduce emissions (CO2, NOx and noise) through alternative drives.
- The existing fleet is also being systematically converted towards protecting the climate: With the “NOx retrofitting for waste collection vehicles” initiative (“NOx-Nachrüstung bei Abfallsammelzeugen”) – a joint project between the Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection (Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz), the Association of Municipal Companies (VKU – Verband kommunaler Unternehmen) and the Federal Ministry of Transport – BSR was awarded the Berlin Climate Protection Partner prize in the “Promising and innovative plans” category on 9 June 2021.