Hybridbus Škoda H12
The Škoda H12 hybrid bus is a low-floor, twelve-meter bus with a serial hybrid drive.
Its advantage is its ability to combine diesel power with battery power, which does not emit any fumes into the air, in addition to being less noisy. The bus can travel up to 10 km with this emission-free drive without recharging the batteries or using a diesel generator. Another major advantage of the hybrid bus is that it saves tens of per cent of fuel thanks to its recovery capabilities. In this case, energy is stored in energy reservoirs - the batteries and supercapacitors - and then re-used when the bus is driving.
Great attention was paid individually to the development of a strategy for managing the diesel-electric unit, in order to minimize fuel consumption in all operating modes. Škoda Electric cooperated with the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen in developing the hybrid bus drive. The serial drive is suitable for public transport, and HybridBus H12 is operated in Plzeň on regular lines. The first passenger was carried by a prototype back in 2012.