Germany – Daimler Buses of Mannheim, Germany (a division of Daimler Trucks AG) has taken one of its first orders for Solid State battery technology, which was first announced as an available option with the eCitaro G articulated bus at Busworld in October 2019. It announced it is to supply five Mercedes-Benz eCitaro buses equipped with solid state batteries to public transport provider, Bremer Straßenbahn AG (BSAG) in the city of Bremen. Delivery of the eCitaro buses is to take place in early 2022.

Daimler says the characteristics of solid-state batteries differ significantly from NMC batteries and as such they cannot be swapped for NMC batteries. Solid-state batteries operate at a temperature of around 80 degrees Celsius, so there is no need for a complex cooling system as is the case with NMC batteries. Solid-state batteries reach their operating temperature solely through energy metabolism during use. During extended breaks, however, heating elements are used to maintain the batteries at the ideal temperature, and furthermore, this occurs automatically in the eCitaro with no involvement by the driver.