District Administrator Johann Kalb presents the trial run of hydrogen-powered scheduled buses to Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär and State Minister Hubert Aiwanger.
“On Friday, District Administrator Johann Kalb presented the practical test of hydrogen-powered line buses to the Federal Minister for Research, Technology, and Space, Dorothee Bär, and the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, at the Cleantech Innovation Park in Hallstadt. These buses are being used in public transport by the Bamberg district, the Cleantech Innovation Park (CTIP) Hallstadt, and regional transport companies.
The goal of the project is to test the emission-free drive under real-world conditions and gain valuable experience for future deployment opportunities. The initiative originated from Ryze Power GmbH, Berlin, with its sister company Wrightbus. “Mobility shapes our Bamberg region. Around 20,000 people are employed by automotive suppliers here. We want to actively shape the transformation and benefit from future technologies. By testing the Wrightbus hydrogen bus, we are taking another important step on the path to climate-neutral mobility in the Bamberg district,” said District Administrator Johann Kalb.
“Hydrogen and its derivatives are an important building block for climate-neutral mobility – in major cities and in rural districts, such as here in the Bamberg district. Climate-neutral mobility is also part of the High-Tech Agenda Germany of the Federal Government, with which we aim to advance growth and added value throughout Germany. The High-Tech Agenda is a call to our entire country to specifically pool our strengths, as is being done here locally, so that we can once again become a top technology country,” said Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär. Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger: “The test run of the H2 line buses shows that H2-mobility has enormous potential in public transport. By using them in line buses, we can see how this technology works in everyday life and reduces greenhouse gases. In this respect, the test run is an important step towards mobility without fossil fuels.”
Gabor Beyer, Managing Director of Ryze Power GmbH (Germany) and CEO of the Ryze Power Group (Great Britain), was enthusiastic about the positive response: “Southern Germany is one of the economically strongest regions in Europe. We see enormous potential for hydrogen in Bavaria and are excited about the political framework conditions. It is great to see that our hydrogen initiatives here in the Bamberg district are being so openly embraced. My dedicated team, Constanze Weinkum and Luzi Teber, is working tirelessly to bring hydrogen technology to the road and into industry. Together with the partners here, we are achieving exactly that.”
The test phase runs from October 15th to November 6th. For the start, Werner Leitner (MorGen Energy) and Gregor Creslovnik (Wrightbus) had instructed Thomas Kramer from Omnibus Kramer (Buttenheim/Gunzendorf) and Roland Hasler from Hasler Reisen (Bamberg/Hallstadt) on how to use the vehicle.
