Neumünster, with its 80,000 residents, one hundred municipal vehicles, and an ambitious target: to achieve climate neutrality by 2035. The first hydrogen fuel cell-powered refuse collection vehicle has just been launched here. The city considered this move so important that it proceeded even without public funding. A local visit in Schleswig-Holstein with Jakob, Dominic, and Justin, along with a MEDIUM X4.

At 6:30 a.m., shift starts for Column 1 at the Technical Operations Centre in the west of Neumünster. It’s still pleasantly cool, but a hot day is promised. The vehicle is ready to go, with 100 percent battery charge and a range of about 220 km; the BLUEPOWER quietly hums into the sunny September morning. It’s his fourth day on the streets of Neumünster, but the crew already seems so routine, as if he’s an old friend. And in essence, he really is. Driver Jakob Onoprienko almost seems a bit disappointed when he says, “It’s all the same as with the other vehicles—cockpit, instrument layout, displays—everything identical…” He points to the dashboard: “It’s just Mercedes on Econic.” On the other hand, it only took one briefing and he could start driving. And the noise level, of course, is truly remarkable: “It’s really very, very pleasant. At first, I sometimes felt like the thing wasn’t even on.”

For a layperson, the ride feels more like a limousine than a truck: gentle humming, light gliding, no vibrations, and the manoeuvres—but that could also be down to the driver’s skills—feel like the vehicle is pivoting on the spot. With a load, a total of 27 tonnes manoeuvre here, as gracefully as Zinédine Zidane’s roulette dribbling.

Impressing with Quiet Qualities

The sun slowly rises higher, casting patches of light on the cobblestones through shaded avenue trees—almost kitschily peaceful. And it stays just as quiet. From the roadside, there’s always this brief moment: a slight pause when the vehicle starts, but the expected sound doesn’t follow. Clearly, the mental image of a refuse truck is still tied to engine noise.

The quiet qualities of the BLUEPOWER—alongside all its ecological advantages—are most noticeable in the rear section of the vehicle. When loaders Dominic Rixen and Justin Denz stand on their footboards, they can converse even with the engine running, without shouting. “Less vibration, less noise, much more driving comfort,” Dominic summarises the benefits, which for him personally often also means: fewer headaches. And: “When it sets off, it really gets going. Quickly putting on gloves while standing on the footboard isn’t an option with this one,” Justin adds.

Often, it’s the little things that truly captivate, and in this case, they have nothing to do with hydrogen: Equipped with a fully electric Epsilon 2600 lifter, the vehicle features a guide rail for large containers that narrows towards the tipping point. “Just push the container up and it lands exactly where it’s supposed to. No more fiddling and tugging to get the angle right. That’s a real relief with the heavy containers,” says Dominic.

Ambitious City Goals

Neumünster has set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2035—slightly faster and more ambitious than the EU’s targets. The TBZ, the city’s Technical Operations Centre, has a fleet of about 100 vehicles, including ten refuse collection vehicles. On paper, that means replacing one vehicle with an alternative drive every year. Currently, explains TBZ manager Ingo Kühl, only hydrogen fuel cells work. “The city itself isn’t that big, but the routes still cover quite a few kilometres—especially since the MBA, the Mechanical Biological Waste Disposal facility where they unload, is located slightly outside the city to the south. Batteries for electric trucks currently don’t have the range, so the hydrogen tank acts as a range extender.

Around 850 waste bins and large containers with household waste are on Column 1’s route today. The collection bin holds around ten tonnes, typically making two trips per route to the MBA to unload—and to meet colleagues. It’s obvious that the new fleet addition is a topic of conversation at the moment, often leading to some banter.

While the BLUEPOWER crew waits in the yard to offload their load, colleague Dieter pulls up alongside with a diesel and revs the engine once with a roar in neutral. “Eh?!”, he shouts through the open window over the roar: “Can’t you do that?” Jakob retorts, “What did you say? I can’t hear a thing! Your vehicle is so loud!”, grinning quietly to himself.

Operating Costs to Offset Purchase Price

Despite the recent expiration of federal funding programmes for climate-friendly commercial vehicles and alternative drives in trucks and buses, Neumünster decided to go ahead with the purchase. “Our mayor also wanted to make a political statement,” explains Ingo Kühl. “You can’t always expect citizens to be engaged; the city itself must lead the way.” Neumünster is well-positioned for this approach. It has the first public hydrogen refuelling station in Schleswig-Holstein, and two hydrogen plants are being built nearby—one in the city, another in the neighbouring district. Additionally, digester gases from the sewage plant are converted to electricity, which will also charge the BLUEPOWER batteries. “We expect the high purchase price of the vehicle to be offset by the reduced operating costs,” says Ingo Kühl.

Column 1 is meanwhile heading towards the end of the day. The BLUEPOWER returns to the depot, the fuel cell runs on a bit longer—with the whirring sound of a fan, a drop of water softly splashes onto the asphalt on the left side with a gentle “plop,” and then with a quiet “pffff,” everything falls completely silent.“