Northern Ireland manufacturer kicks off €24m project with delivery of five zero-emission vehicles, supporting Saarbahn’s fleet decarbonisation and Germany’s clean transport goals

Zero-emission bus manufacturer Wrightbus has delivered five new hydrogen vehicles to German operator Saarbahn as it continues with its European expansion.

The latest delivery of five Kite Hydroliner single decks is the first part of a 28-bus order to Saarbahn as it looks to decarbonise its fleet. The buses, which will enter regular service this summer, are part of a €24 million investment that includes the construction of a hydrogen filling station on the grounds of the bus depot.

The project has been funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) with a total of EUR 11.1 million as part of the “Directive for the promotion of alternative drive systems for buses in passenger transport”.

When in service, the 28 hydrogen buses will save 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per year compared to diesel buses.

Wrightbus also recently delivered 12 Kite Hydroliners to another German operator, WestVerkehr GmbH, taking the number of its hydrogen-powered buses in the country up to 48 in total - with around 130 due on the roads by the end of 2025.

Jean-Marc Gales, CEO, said: “Wrightbus is at the forefront of zero-emission technology both in hydrogen and EV buses, so we are delighted to be growing our presence in Germany.

“We have built up an excellent partnership and cooperation with Saarbahn and we know these buses will have a significant positive impact on the region’s roads, benefitting the environment and ensuring that people in the region breathe better air.

“I would like to sincerely thank their team for working with us so closely on this project, while also acknowledging our own excellent engineers and designers in Northern Ireland, the production teams, product development and the sales and service teams. We can all be very proud of the Kite Hydroliner."

Karsten Nagel, Saarbahn Managing Director, who attended the official handover of the hydrogen buses, said: "The hydrogen buses fulfil two particularly important criteria for us. These are a long range and short refuelling times. Unlike previous electric buses, we can easily use the hydrogen buses in our scheduled bus service system, which operates for up to 300 kilometres non-stop a day. But we also see battery buses as a possible future alternative.”

As part of its European expansion, Wrightbus has also opened a European service centre in Brühl, near Cologne.

“Under the AllServiceOne brand, our team of experts maintains and services all types of buses here in the heart of Europe,” added Jean-Marc. “This includes those from other manufacturers and with different drive types.”

The service centre includes a spare parts warehouse in Brühl. It is the first step on the way to a comprehensive network of service centres on the continent, replicating the network that already exists in the UK.

With its long range of up to 1,000 kilometres, the ‘Kite Hydroliner FCEV’ is ideal for long journeys. Refuelling takes less than 10 minutes and the single-deck buses can accommodate up to 90 passengers.