MAN Truck & Bus
Landmark The Pellworm lighthouse is also depicted on the MAN electric bus that has been in service on the island since August 2021.
Seals are romping around the sandbanks in the shallow water. The wind is blowing over green meadows where sheep are contentedly grazing. Wind turbines and windmills are turning. There’s barely a soul to be seen on the flat landscape. Pellworm is a natural paradise recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Preserving this status results in the environment and climate protection being major issues on this 37 square kilometre island in the North Sea. A MAN Lion’s City 12 E has therefore been in service on Pellworm since August 2021. This fully-electric urban bus transports islanders and guests from the ferry terminal to the main town of Tammensiel, and enables holidaymakers to take tours around the island – all emission-free. “We’re really pleased that acquiring this bus is enabling us to take a small step towards climate neutrality on Pellworm”, explains Sven Frener, the managing director of Neue Pellwormer Dampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft GmbH (NPDG). This operator purchased the fully-electric urban bus in the context of a joint project with other transport companies which was funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The island’s electricity comes almost entirely from renewable energy sources like solar, wind and biogas. This eco-friendly energy mix is also use to recharge the MAN Lion’s City E, thus fully exploiting the ecological advantages of its emission-free drive system. The bus is recharged directly at the Neue Pellwormer Dampfschiffahrts GmbH (NPDG) depot on Pellworm.
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Signal color The red lighthouse stands out from the green of the island.
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Along the dike The Wadden Sea around Pellworm is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Play it safe The Corona safety screen protects the person behind the wheel.
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Village idyll The all-electric bus rolls quietly through the streets.
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Tower ruins The old church dates back to the 13th century.
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Flexible in use The all-electric city bus is also used for tourist island tours.
The island’s concept for sustainability
The bus will also be used for school runs, so it is equipped with interurban seating and lap and diagonal seat belts. This MAN Lion’s City E can accommodate a total of 70 passengers. The exterior of the bus is charmingly decorated with lighthouses and windmills, which makes it stand out. “We jazzed up the design with island motifs”, recounts NPDG managing director Sven Frener.
The island’s population emphatically supported choosing the commercial vehicle from MAN to take their step towards electric mobility. “The citizens were included in the decision as to which bus should be purchased, and they decided on MAN”, is the proud statement from Christoph Huber, chairman of the board at MAN Truck & Bus Deutschland GmbH. He’s convinced that the inhabitants of this UNESCO World Heritage Site have made the right choice. “Our fully-electric MAN Lion’s City 12 E is a superbly designed product that guarantees quiet and locally emission-free passenger transport. NPDG’s acquisition of such an electric bus with interurban seating for Pellworm demonstrates the huge potential for deployment of electric buses. At the same time it fits perfectly with this North Sea island’s concept for sustainability as a marine spa in the middle of the Wadden Sea National Park”, says Christoph Huber.
“The bus fits perfectly with the sustainable concept of the North Sea island as a seaside resort in the middle of the Wadden Sea National Park”
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Perfect choice The residents of Pellworm were among those who opted for the MAN Lion's City E.
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Interior equipment The E-bus has overhead seating and three-point safety belts.
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Emission-free Electricity for charging is generated almost entirely from renewable energy sources such as wind power.
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Curious sheep The electric bus fits well with the nature-loving island of Pellworm.
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High range During the MAN Efficiency Run, the MAN Lion's City 12 E covered 550.8 kilometers without intermediate charging.
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Electrically mobile The MAN Lion's City E is equipped with sophisticated battery cell technology from the Volkswagen Group's modular system.
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Charging solution The bus is supplied with electricity directly at the depot of Neue Pellwormer Dampfschiffahrts GmbH.
The electric bus as a model for success
Across Germany, the MAN Lion’s City E fully-electric urban bus is not merely welcomed in natural beauty spots like Pellworm, but above all in major conurbations. Transport companies in Hamburg, Cologne, Braunschweig, Munich and Nuremberg are already relying on this long-range e-bus. The fully-electric power train in the rigid bus has an output of 160 kW to a maximum of 240 kW. The energy for this stems from the modular batteries with 480 kWh of installed capacity. MAN can in this case rely on sophisticated battery cell technology from the Volkswagen Group. Advanced temperature management also ensures particularly good availability at any time of year.
The MAN Lion’s City 12 E did after all prove what it can achieve in terms of range during the “MAN eBus Efficiency Run”. In May this year, the fully-electric e-bus covered a total of 550.8 kilometres in around 24 hours in service conditions on Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) routes 176 and X80 – without any interim charging. This electric bus therefore delivers the best prerequisites to now also ensure clean mobility on Pellworm.
