Green urban transport today and tomorrow - MAN Lion's City Hybrid and MAN TGL Hybrid
With the new Lion's City Hybrid MAN is presenting an innovative concept aimed at more environmental protection and higher economy in urban traffic. The MAN Hybrid bus consumes up to 30 % less fuel, thereby saving up to 10,000 litres of diesel fuel per year, and cutting CO2 output by up to 26 tonnes per year. The innovative hybrid drive concept thus combines minimum emissions with the highest possible economy and makes for higher efficiency in urban transport.
OekoGlobe 2011: MAN Lion's City Hybrid bus honoured
The panel of judges for the coveted German environmental prize "OekoGlobe 2011" awarded the MAN Lion's City Hybrid bus third prize in the category "Vehicle innovations in public transport". With its serial hybrid drive, the hybrid bus from MAN saves up to 30 percent on fuel and thus on CO2 emissions.
More on OekoGlobe 2011
In May 2010 Munich was the first European city to put the MAN Lion's City Hybrid into service. Further buses of this type are running in Paris (F), Barcelona (E), Milan (I), Vienna (A) and Hagen (D). Since the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2010 customers can order the MAN Lion's City Hybrid. Eleven public transport companies in Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein have also ordered MAN hybrid buses.
Being a symbol for efficient public transport, the design of the new bus, housing the hybrid components under an airflow-optimized roofline, has been awarded with the reddot design award 2011.
The MAN Lion's City Hybrid
The repeated braking and pulling away from bus stops and traffic lights on scheduled routes is an optimum condition for use of hybrid technology. In buses with the conventional diesel engine the braking energy is converted into heat and remains unused, but the MAN Lion's City Hybrid converts the braking energy into electrical energy, which it stores and uses for moving away from bus-stops or traffic lights under purely electric power. The bus thereby operates without emissions and almost without noise. This not only saves resources but cuts CO2 and pollutant emissions to a minimum.
The MAN Lion's City Hybrid was realised by combining the diesel-electric drive concept with a high-efficiency electric storage unit. An integrated energy management system controls the energy flows between the storage unit and the drive system. This leads to efficient system behaviour with a significant reduction in fuel consumption. The brake energy is stored in high-performance capacitors (ultracaps).
Furthermore, the MAN Lion's City Hybrid can run on biofuels. For an average of 60,000 kilometres per year an additional saving of up to ten tonnes of greenhouse gases is possible, substituting fossile fuel by biofuel.
The MAN TGL 12.220 Hybrid
In distribution trucks MAN opts for parallel hybrid technology, which promises higher efficiency ratings in feeder services with fairly long sections where constant driving is possible. In the MAN TGL 12.220 Hybrid research vehicle a four-cylinder common-rail EEV diesel engine rated at 220 hp is located under the cab and supplies its power to a hybrid transmission. Additionally, a 60 kW electric motor is integrated in the driveline as a starter-generator. During braking this motor converts up to 60 kW of brake power into electrical energy. The TGL Hybrid stores this braking energy in a lithium-ion battery and uses it to move off under purely electric power or to assist the diesel engine during acceleration and thus to save fuel. An automatic start-stop system saves additional fuel. With the current state of the art a fuel saving of up to 15 per cent is possible.
Reliability, economy and efficiency are the three essential criteria for success in marketing hybrid drive systems. While it will not be possible to arrive at an economically operating hybrid truck in the short term, changes in the general conditions such as zero-emission zones or more powerful battery technology in future could make these vehicles economic. For this reason MAN is developing the hybrid drive system for distribution trucks further.
