The Daimler Buses electric coach demonstrator is designed for a range of more than 500 kilometres
(Image courtesy of Daimler)
The Daimler Buses electric coach technology demonstrator, designed for a range of more than 500 kilometres, has completed a joint test drive in Neu-Ulm with its partners in the Electrified Coach (ELCH) project. Held during the consortium’s final in-person meeting in early October, the drive sits within a project that covers the drive system and battery alongside aerodynamics, lightweight construction and economic viability. Federal funding supports the project, which runs until the end of 2026.
The drive served to test and validate the technical concepts under practical conditions, and the partners also used the meeting to review progress and coordinate the next steps through to completion. Together, Daimler Buses and its partners aim to establish the technological and economic prerequisites for a market-ready battery-electric coach concept, including its suitability for practical coach operations.
Research partners and operator data behind the Daimler Buses electric coach
Daimler Buses coordinates the project together with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, ITIV institute), the University of Mannheim (MISES), the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) through its iMAD and SAM institutes, and Flix SE. KIT analyses vehicle data and works on optimising the operating strategy of the Daimler Buses electric coach, while RPTU investigates lightweight construction and aerodynamics to improve energy consumption and range. MISES assesses the economic viability of battery-electric coach concepts for different usage profiles and analyses their competitiveness, and Flix also contributes real-world operating data from its long-distance coach services to support practical application and driving cycles.
Public funding and an end-of-decade horizon for the Daimler Buses electric coach
ELCH launched in 2022 with a brief to develop a modular drivetrain and demonstration vehicles for testing under real operating conditions. Daimler Buses said at the time that installation space should correspond as far as possible to current diesel coaches, with passenger capacity and luggage payload maintained. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy funds the project with a total of €6.26 million under its Elektro-Mobil programme, which the DLR Project Management Agency implements, and Daimler Buses’ share is €4.8 million. Published in 2021, the funding call sought vehicle and charging concepts for road-based passenger transport and heavy commercial vehicles, with particular interest in ranges above 400 kilometres.
Daimler Buses aims to offer battery-electric coaches by the end of the decade and describes the project’s findings as an important basis for its future electric coach concepts and technologies. With the final in-person meeting behind them, the partners are now working towards project completion at the end of 2026.
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