Vienna testing a hydrogen bus by Solaris

The hydrogen bus Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen is continuing its European tour. After tests held in Polish, German and Italian cities the vehicle has now been presented in Vienna. Wiener Linien, one of the biggest public transport operators in Europe, has added the hydrogen Solaris bus today to its fleet where it is going to stay until 12 June.

The latest product of Solaris has met with huge interest among customers. Since its première in June last year Solaris has been awarded orders from the Netherlands, Germany and Italy for 57 buses in total. The first vehicles will make it to Bolzano, Cologne and Wuppertal by the end of this year.

“With the test drives of the hydrogen-powered bus Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen the operator Wiener Linien has once again proven it leads the way towards an even more environment-friendly future of public transport. We are very pleased that, with Solaris, we have a Europe-wide renowned industry expert on board for this milestone that is hugely important to us all. Together we will promote further development of hydrogen buses as the requirements for vehicles in regular service in Vienna are tremendous“, says Günter Steinbauer, the CEO of Wiener Linien.

“Vienna is a pioneer of e-mobility in public transport and one of the first European capitals to have introduced electric buses to regular service. Wiener Linien continuously invests in emission-free solutions. I am therefore extremely happy to present today our Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen bus in Vienna“, says Petros Spinaris, Vice-President of Solaris Bus & Coach S.A.

Many European cities strive to make their municipal transport as environmentally friendly as possible. Solaris embraces these customer expectations, adding hydrogen-fuelled buses to its low and zero-emission vehicle portfolio. The sole “by-products” generated during the operation of the Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen are heat and steam, which renders this bus one of the most ecological vehicle available on the market.

The technologically advanced Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses use a set of fuel cells with a power of 70 kW. The hydrogen is stored in gaseous form in five new-generation tanks mounted on the bus roof. The set of type 4 composite tanks (of the latest generation available on the market), placed longitudinally above the first axle of the vehicle, has a total volume of 1560 litres.

The energy needed to power the bus is produced in the fuel cell that is supplied with hydrogen stored in the roof-mounted tanks. That hydrogen is turned into electricity, which, in turn, is feeding directly the bus driveline which consists of an axle with electric engines. The bus is also fitted with a Solaris High Power battery acting as an additional electric power storage facility. The sole by-products generated during the operation of the Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen are heat and steam. Consequently, the vehicles do not generate any noxious substances whatsoever.

Solaris has been present in Austria since 2003 and over that time it has delivered nearly 400 buses to 40 cities there. Every day 53 of these are cruising the streets of Vienna and its outskirts, including on special lines transporting passengers to the biggest Austrian airport.