Solaris e-buses enter Danish market: Aarhus lands an order for 29 vehicles

Solaris Bus & Coach and Danish carrier AarBus (previous named: Busselskabet Aarhus Sporveje) have signed an agreement for the delivery of 29 electric buses: 6 Solaris Urbino 12 electric and 23 articulated Urbino 18 electric units. In accordance with the contract, the zero-emission buses will be delivered to Aarhus by mid-2022.

A batch of 29 e-buses from Volvo has been launched in the same city in spring 2021 (with Ekoenergetyka as charging partner).

In June 2020 the six largest Danish municipalities set a commitment to buy only zero emission buses from 2021 on. It means that, starting this year, all the new buses for public transport in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Aalborg, Vejle and Frederiksberg must be powered via electricity.

Located on the Jutland peninsula, the city of Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark and the first to put electric Solaris buses into service. Carrier AarBus has ordered 6 12-metre Urbino 12 electric and 23 articulated Urbino 18 electric buses.

Solaris electric buses in Aarhus, Denmark

The commissioned Urbino electric buses will be fitted with Solaris High Energy batteries. The batteries, with a total capacity of 440 kWh, will be installed in the articulated vehicles, whereas in the shorter buses energy will be stored in batteries with a total capacity of over 260 kWh. Both Urbino models will be recharged by means of a conventional charging socket in the depot as well as an inverted pantograph. The 12m buses are driven by a central motor, while the articulated are equipped with ZF AxTrax.

Seats are adapted to suburban routes. The Urbino 12 electric bus will offer 35 seats on board, while the Urbino 18 electric, on the other hand, will have 55 seats available to passengers.

“We were very glad to receive news of Denmark joining the group of countries with zero-emission Solaris buses on their streets. I feel honoured that the first electric buses of our brand will make their way to the city of Aarhus, with which we have been collaborating for years. The vehicles will offer more travel comfort to passengers and will contribute to cleaner air and lower noise levels throughout the city. It is wonderful to observe the dynamic development of an electric transportation network in Europe, and to be part of that green revolution at the same time”, said Petros Spinaris, Deputy CEO of Solaris for Sales, Marketing and After Sales.

The very first Solaris buses made it to Aarhus back in 2006. Since then Solaris has supplied almost 200 buses in total to the Danish city, of which approx. 140 are still in operation. The Solaris bus number 200 that will arrive in Aarhus will be one of the newly ordered electric buses. In the past months an increasing number of European clients has opted to purchase vehicles that enhance the quality of life in towns and cities. Solaris is a European leader in the transformation of public transport. So far, the company has delivered over 1000 electric buses to its clients.