Further Solaris H2 buses ordered in Germay: 23 Urbino hydrogen headed to Frankfurt’s region

Solaris and German public transport operator Lokale Nahverkehrsgesellschaft mbH Kreis Groß-Gerau (for brevity’s sake: LNVG) have begun collaborating by signing a contract for the delivery of 23 Urbino hydrogen buses that will be in operation in Frankfurt’s region.

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.

Urbino hydrogen buses are already operating in cities such as Cologne, Wuppertal, Hofolding, Weimar, Frankfurt, Gross-Zimmern, and in the Munich metropolitan area. Moreover, further contracts are in the pipeline, including Aschaffenburg, Krefeld, Güstrow, Gross-Gerau, Hamburg and Duisburg.

23 Solaris hydrogen buses for Frankfurt

The order encompasses 15 standard-length Urbino 12 hydrogen vehicles and 8 articulated Urbino 18 hydrogen buses. The 12-meter vehicles are scheduled to be delivered by November 2024, and the 18-meter vehicles by mid-2025, Solaris states. This is the first order placed by this carrier with Solaris.

LNVG has been testing hydrogen technology in public transport for a few years now and also aim to transform the whole fleet to be zero-emission by 2030.

The Urbino 12 hydrogen and Urbino 18 hydrogen are powered by energy derived from 70 kW and 100 kW fuel cells, respectively, and their driveline is based on electric traction motors. The buses will be fitted with Solaris High Power batteries that act in hydrogen vehicles as a supporting energy storage facility.

The buses will be equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), including features to detect pedestrians and cyclists in the blind spot of the vehicle. In addition, the eSConnect system designed by Solaris for monitoring vehicle performance and fleet management will facilitate day-to-day operations.