Press releases

2023/07/21

SOLARIS IS AWARDED THE SUPPLY OF MORE THAN 80 ZERO-EMISSION BUSES IN GERMANY AND DENMARK

Major European transport operators have once again placed their trust in Solaris to work with them on their path towards sustainable urban public transport. The German cities of Duisburg and the Danish city of Aarhus will receive a total of 81 zero-emission buses in the coming months under contracts secured with Solaris, totalling approximately 50 million euros. 

Solaris is the leading supplier of sustainable buses for public transport in Europe. A testament to this fact is that an estimated 3,000 Solaris zero emission vehicles are expected to be in service in more than 100 cities in Europe by the end of this year, thus evidencing CAF's commitment to driving transformation towards greener forms of transport. 

The German city of Duisburg bets on Solaris’ hydrogen buses 

The city of Duisburg has awarded Solaris to supply 25 Urbino hydrogen buses, 11 of the 12-metre version and 14 18-metre articulated vehicles. The 12-metre vehicles are scheduled for delivery in 2024 and the articulated buses in 2025. These buses will be the first hydrogen buses in this German city. 

The chosen models will be low-noise, emission-free hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles. Driving will be assisted by means of a complete assistance system (ADAS), which features pedestrian and cyclist detection in blind spots, with the driver alerted by means of audio and visual signals. The operator has also requested the inclusion of the Solaris remove fleet management system called eSConnect, which provides access to vehicle data in real time, thereby facilitating fleet management. 

Solaris has been developing this technology for close to a decade now and is currently Europe's leading manufacturer of hydrogen buses, with last year's market share standing at 60%. The company has already supplied more than 120 hydrogen vehicles in 15 European cities, a figure it hopes to build on with this new 18-metre articulated model, which was added to its product portfolio just a few months ago and which, like in Duisburg, has already been selected by a number of European cities. 

56 Solaris electric buses for Denmark 

Solaris will also supply articulated electric buses to AarBus, the operator for the Danish city of Aarhus. This city, the second largest in this Nordic country, has already been operating with Solaris electric units in its fleet since last year. 

Aarhus has set itself the goal of achieving fossil-fuel-free public transport by 2030, and with this mission in mind it has entered into this contract for the supply of 56 Solaris Urbino 18-metre electric buses. As a result, 80% of its bus fleet will soon be electric, with everything that this implies in terms of reduced noise levels and CO2 emissions. 

These new vehicles will be supplied in two batches with the first 31 units being delivered in 2024 and the remaining 25 in 2025. They will be equipped with Solaris High Energy batteries with a capacity in excess of 450 kWh, providing the fleet with extensive range and operability during each service day. 

Solaris and AarBus first started working together in 2006, and since then a total of 227 buses have been supplied to the Danish operator, including the last 29 electric buses that were received just last year.