Solaris Bus & Coach and Dutch carrier Arriva Netherlands have signed an agreement for the delivery of 10 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses. The 12-meter hydrogen buses will be delivered to the province of Gelderland in the course of this year. Arriva will start driving them in December 2021 in the Achterhoek region and the cities Zutphen and Apeldoorn.
Gelderland is the largest province in the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. At the end of last year, the Provincial Executive of Gelderland announced that it was participating in the European JIVE2 program (Joint Initiative For Hydrogen Vehicles Across Europe), which focuses on the promotion of emission-free public transport. The aim is to increase the number of hydrogen buses in public transport, inter alia through subsidies of €148,000 per bus. Across Europe, this includes subsidies for 152 buses in 14 European regions.
The ten 12-meter hydrogen-powered Solaris buses will replace the current diesel buses and will cover more than 1 million kilometers per year.
Solaris’ hydrogen buses are also fitted with a Solaris High Power battery. The hydrogen needed to propel the Urbino 12 hydrogen bus will be stored in gaseous form in tanks with a total volume of 1560 liters, mounted on the bus roof.
Each bus ordered can carry up to 85 passengers, including 37 people seated. The vehicle will feature a door layout of 1-2-0.
Automatic driver assistance systems include, among other things, the MirrorEye system that replaces conventional side mirrors with cameras, and the Mobileye Shield+ system of intelligent cameras monitoring the close surroundings of the vehicle, thus minimizing the risk of colliding with pedestrians or cyclists. Drivers will be alerted to potential dangers with sound and visual signals.
Driving on hydrogen is new for Arriva Netherlands. Thanks to its commitment to regular regional transport, Arriva will cover a record number of kilometers with the newly purchased buses. It is a condition of the JIVE2 project that in the period December 2021 to December 2024 each hydrogen bus drives at least 50,000 kilometers per year. Arriva and the province of Gelderland are aiming at 100,000 kilometers per year. The carrier, with the support of the province, is also committed to building a hydrogen filling stations by December 2021.
Since the launch of the Urbino 12 hydrogen in June 2019, Solaris has been awarded orders from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Sweden for 69 hydrogen buses in total.
