The waste management company Entsorgungsbetriebe Lübeck (EBL) has received a funding notification from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) for the purchase of a waste collection vehicle with an alternative drive system. The project is supported by the National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH) and Jülich Research Centre GmbH as the project management organisation.
“We are delighted to receive this notification,” comments Senator Ludger Hinsen, Senator for Environment, Safety and Order. “The Entsorgungsbetriebe Lübeck (EBL) possesses the prime prerequisites for the deployment of such vehicles. A waste collection vehicle with a combined electric/hydrogen drive is being procured. The required renewable electricity will be produced on site at EBL,” continues Hinsen.
Other climate-friendly vehicles are already in use at EBL. These include fully electric sweepers and vans as well as passenger cars. In the area of heavy commercial vehicles, a waste collection vehicle is now being added. The costs of a waste collection vehicle with a combined electric/hydrogen drive are considerably higher than those of a vehicle with a conventional drive. The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is providing 90% of the additional costs.
The fuel cell waste collection vehicle combines an all-electric chassis with safe hydrogen fuel cell technology. With this combination, the operating hours and ranges of vehicles with conventional drive technology will always be able to be achieved. “Nevertheless, EBL is thinking ahead and has already submitted corresponding funding applications to the Federal Ministry for the construction of an electrolyser and a hydrogen filling station. Now all project participants are hoping for a positive decision,” says Senator for the Environment Ludger Hinsen. This would enable EBL to create a sustainable hydrogen supply infrastructure and would make it a pioneer in Lübeck. In the first step, a mobile hydrogen filling station is planned. “The goal for EBL is to produce ‘green’ hydrogen from landfill gas as well as from organic and residual waste fermentation,” says Manfred Rehberg, Divisional Manager of the EBL municipal waste management company.