Ten of the 25 commissioned buses will be in use in Wuppertal, whereas the remaining 15 ones will be operated on lines serviced by RVK Köln in nearby Cologne. Delivery of the buses will start later this year and ends a year later. The public transport companies run their operations commissioned by Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr.
These Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen use a set of fuel cells with a power of 70 kW, good for up to 350 km on a single refill. A Solaris High Power traction battery with a capacity of 30 kWh is on board to support the fuel cell whenever the demand for electric power peaks. The battery will be recharged using energy derived from hydrogen and energy recuperated during the braking process. The hydrogen is stored at a pressure of 350 atmospheres in 5 new-generation type 4 composite tanks of 1560 l placed on the roof, the storage capacity is 37.5 kg hydrogen.
The buses will also be equipped with the MobilEye Shield+ system. The cameras detect pedestrians and cyclists staying in the blind spot of the vehicle and pedestrian and cyclist who are up to 80 cm around the bus. It warns the driver by means of acoustic alerts and of light signals. The MobilEye Shield+ responds also when a vehicle leaves a lane and becomes to close in front of the bus. The system alerts the driver to collision risks, recognises speed limits and signals these to the driver on the display.
The Wuppertal-based client WSW Mobil GmbH has also opted for having its vehicles fitted with the eSConnect system which enhances the fleet management and allows operators to quickly respond to potential malfunctions and to exercise better control over the driving ranges and it offers the option of generating reports with historical data.
Solaris has already supplied two Urbino 18.75 electric to Hamburg and 10 trolleybuses to Riga, all of them fitted with hydrogen-based range extenders. Also Italian operator SASA Bolzano placed last year an order for 12 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses. These deliveries will be performed in 2021, whereas the first of the ordered buses will make it to Italy before the end of this year.
