Press releases

2023/04/20

SOLARIS IS AWARDED THE SUPPLY OF 52 HYDROGEN BUSES FOR GERMANY, ITS LARGEST CONTRACT TO DATE WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY

The German operator, Rebus Regionalbus Rostock, based in Güstrow and responsible for the management of the public transport service in the region of Rostock in northern Germany, has concluded an agreement with Solaris for the supply of 52 Solaris Urbino hydrogen buses, 5 of which are 18-metre articulated vehicles. This is the largest contract obtained by Solaris to date for hydrogen-powered vehicles, making this contract award a particularly significant event. 

The delivery is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, thereby reaffirming the regional government's mobility policy, one of the objectives of which is to achieve a hydrogen-based public transport system for the county of Rostock over the next few years. 

Together with the supply of these new buses, the contract contemplates the construction of two hydrogen service stations at the depots in the towns of Güstrow and Bad Doberan. Both of the bus models ordered will be equipped with state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel cells. 70kW for the 12-metre bus model and 100 kW for the articulated bus. Likewise, they will also be fitted with a Solaris High Power traction battery for the purpose of supporting the fuel cell at times when the vehicle has a maximum energy demand.  

It should be highlighted that, in the last financial year, Solaris was the European leader in the hydrogen bus market with a share of more than 60%. To date the company has delivered more than 100 Urbino hydrogen buses buses to operators in Italy, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Poland, a figure that will soon be increased with the delivery of more than 100 vehicles based on this technology and which are currently at various stages of manufacture. 

The CAF Group is thus keeping to its commitment to strengthen its leadership position in the European zero-emission urban bus market. It is worth noting that 76% of the order backlog of Solaris at the end of FY 2022 was for zero-emission units, which are to be built over the next few months. This will mean that, by the end of 2023, taking electric and hydrogen solutions together, almost 3,000 zero-emission buses will be operating in more than 20 countries in Europe.