Press releases

2024/01/25

SOLARIS CONSOLIDATES ITS LEADING POSITION IN EUROPE IN THE HYDROGEN BUS MARKET BY WINNING CONTRACTS IN BARCELONA AND ESSEN

The CAF Group company has consolidated its leading position in the thriving hydrogen city bus market with two new contracts for the supply of 57 vehicles for a combined value of over €40 million. Solaris' experience in rolling out hydrogen technology has seen 40 operators in 10 European countries already place their trust in the company, having placed orders for a volume in excess of 700 vehicles. 

Supported by the ongoing development of the hydrogen vehicle market and, as a result, the increasing orders for hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses, Solaris has intensified its business activity in this segment over the recent months. In fact, in connection with this technology, last year Solaris made a major investment constructing a new building exclusively to manufacture hydrogen-powered buses. 

Solaris' substantial backlog, which includes supplies to various operators in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Slovakia, illustrates the current relevance of this market. While 99 hydrogen buses were registered in Europe in 2022, pending official data for 2023, at the end of the third quarter of the year a total of 137 new bus registrations had already been made in Europe, representing a 38% increase compared to the 12 months in the previous year. If we add the data for the last 3 months of 2023, the figures would undoubtedly reveal how strongly this sector has grown and how much Solaris has contributed to this situation. Just a few years ago, specifically in 2018, not one single hydrogen bus was registered in Europe. 

We should also recall the numerous benefits to be gained from hydrogen, firstly, the fact that it is a totally clean energy source in operation as there are no carbon emissions, as well as other advantages such as its extensive range, high energy density, rapid refuelling, silent operation and the sheer flexibility when it comes to managing the operation of a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles. 

The largest Solaris hydrogen bus contract to date in Spain 

TMB (Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona), the company that manages urban transport in Barcelona, has selected Solaris to supply 38 hydrogen buses, 36 of which are 12-metre buses and the other two 18-metre articulated buses. This is the largest contract awarded in Spain to date for vehicles running on this type of technology. 

This contract provides the CAF Group with yet another opportunity to continue contributing towards achieving the goals the city of Barcelona has set out to provide more sustainable transport, in line with the policy adopted by Barcelona City Council in 2021, when the decision was made to purchase only low or zero emission vehicles for public transport from then onwards. In recent years, Solaris has seen a significant increase in the amount of projects undertaken in this sustainable vehicle sector in the Spanish market. In fact, the Barcelona metropolitan area serves as an example of this, as it currently operates an extensive fleet of Solaris vehicles, which will be further expanded in the coming months when the newly-commissioned buses are set into service. 

Solaris vehicles were first integrated into the TMB fleet in Barcelona in 2015, when it became one of the first Spanish cities with the Urbino 18-metre electric model. Since then, TMB has purchased more of this model of vehicle in orders placed in 2018 and 2020. In terms of hydrogen vehicles, these will be the first ones from Solaris to run on the city’s streets. This project demonstrates Solaris' commitment to the Spanish market, to which it has already supplied over 900 buses. 

19 hydrogen buses will also be supplied to the city of Essen in Germany 

Solaris has also entered into a contract with the operator Ruhrbahn GmbH to supply 19 hydrogen buses to operate in the German city of Essen. The order includes the supply of nine Urbino 12 and ten Urbino 18 vehicles which are scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025. It should be noted that this client also previously awarded CAF a contract to supply 51 tram units in 2021. This is the largest operator in the Ruhr region, managing metro, tram and bus lines, providing services for more than 150 million passengers per year. 

The buses will be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells that generate on-board electrical power and will also feature specially designed Solaris High Power batteries for extended battery life. The vehicles will also feature a CO2 air-conditioning system with a heat pump heating function and will be equipped with passenger USB chargers and a modern passenger information system, as well as advanced ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) safety systems. The contract is completed with the supply of the eSConnect system, the Solaris-designed tool that provides full access to all the data required to assess bus performance and plan bus operation. 

It should be noted that the German market is particularly active, with an increasing amount of investment in hydrogen-powered buses. This is evident from the fact that Solaris hydrogen buses are already operating in cities such as Cologne, Wuppertal, Hofolding, Weimar, Frankfurt, Gross-Zimmern and in the Munich metropolitan area. Other cities such as Aschaffenburg, Krefeld, Güstrow, Gross-Gerau, Hamburg and Duisburg will soon follow, with the orders for these cities currently under production.