Solaris Urbino 18 Electric
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Solaris Urbino 18 electric (and the extended version Solaris Urbino 18,75 electric) is a low-floor,
articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...
city bus A transit bus (also big bus, commuter bus, city bus, town bus, urban bus, stage bus, public bus, public transit bus, or simply bus) is a type of bus used in public transport bus services. Several configurations are used, including low-fl ...
of the MEGA class, with an electric driveline, manufactured since 2014 by
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
producer
Solaris Bus & Coach Solaris Bus & Coach sp z o.o. is a Polish manufacturer of public transport vehicles (buses, trolleybuses and trams), with its headquarters in Bolechowo-Osiedle near Poznań. It is a subsidiary of Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones ...
in Bolechowo-Osiedle near
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
. It is a member of the
Solaris Urbino Solaris Urbino is a series of low-floor buses and low-entry doorway intercity buses, powered by diesel drive engines and alternative fuel ( CNG, gas and biogas, hybrid and electric), produced by the Polish company Solaris Bus & Coach in ...
city bus family.


Origins

In 1999 Solaris unveiled its first city bus of the
Urbino Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...
family – the
Solaris Urbino 12 Solaris Urbino 12 is a series of 12.0-metre low-floor buses from the Solaris Urbino series designed for public transport, produced since 1999 by the Polish company Solaris Bus & Coach in Bolechowo near Poznań in Poland. Since 2010 a hybrid ve ...
. The articulated model
Solaris Urbino 18 Solaris Urbino 18 is a low-floor articulated version of the Solaris Urbino series buses designed for public transport, produced by the Polish company Solaris Bus & Coach from Bolechowo near Poznań in Poland. It is the second most popular (afte ...
had its début the same year. In subsequent years the city bus range was broadened, as new models were added, initially these were conventionally fuelled vehicles. In 2002, Solaris presented a new version of the Urbino, the so-called 2nd generation. Two years later, in 2004, the third generation of the Urbino had its première. In 2006, at the IAA Nutzfahrzeuge trade fair in
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, Solaris Bus & Coach displayed a third generation bus which was also the first of its hybrid models, the Solaris Urbino 18 Hybrid created in collaboration with US firms Alisson Transmission and
Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, electric vehicle components, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipmen ...
. It was the first serially produced hybrid bus in the world. As a result, Solaris joined European leaders of eco-friendly public transport technologies. Krzysztof Olszewski, founder of Solaris Bus & Coach, said at that time that: ''”Diesel has died, long live electricity!”''. The first fully electric bus, the Solaris Urbino 8,9 LE electric, was unveiled in 2012. Even though there were no electric vehicles of the Solaris brand before, this particular bus is part of the third generation Urbino family, because it served as the basis for this model. Initially, the range of the vehicle was merely, however, with time, thanks to technological progress, the achievable range increased. The vehicle was tested among others in Poznań, Cracow and Warsaw. The first buyer of that electric Solaris bus was an
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n operator, from Klagenfurt. Vehicles of that type were also the first electric buses in Poland used by a public transport operator; in 2014, two of these buses made it to the city of
Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...
. 2012 saw the première of the electric city bus Solaris Urbino 12 electric which quickly became a bestseller, whereas its fourth generation version was crowned Bus of the Year 2017.


3rd generation

The articulated electric Solaris saw its premiere in September 2014 during the InnoTrans trade fair in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. The first four buses (including the prototype) were earmarked for the public transport operator Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH from the German city of
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
, where they are tested together with a 12-metre electric Solaris. The vehicles feature the innovative inductive charging system ''Primove'' of Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. The 90 kWh
lithium-ion A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible Intercalation (chemistry), intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically Electrical conductor, conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are c ...
traction batteries have been placed on the bus roof. The driveline consists of a central
asynchronous motor An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor that produces torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator winding. An induction motor theref ...
with a power of 240 kW, located in the second section of the vehicle. The electric equipment was supplied by German firm Vossloh-Kiepe (now Kiepe Electric). The axles and steering system were provided by
ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'' (), and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a Germany, German technology manufacturing company that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles ...
. The driver has control over the state of charge of the battery and the operation of the driveline thanks to touch screens installed in the driver's cabin. Interior and external lighting of the vehicle was based on
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...
technology. At the end of 2014, Solaris showed in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
two elongated electric Urbino 18,75 buses featuring an electric driveline electric reinforced with a
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
. It was the first vehicle produced in Poland using
hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
as an alternative fuel. The basic energy source are 120 kWh traction batteries placed in the tower in the rear part of the vehicle. These batteries are charged by means of charging stations in the bus depot and of a fuel cell with an effective power output of 85 kW. The fuel cell was made by Ballard. Thanks to this solution the battery lifetime has been extended, whereas the buses can cover up to 300 km every day, which is an unprecedented achievement for electric buses. In October 2016, Solaris presented two Urbino 18 electric for public transport operator
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from
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. The vehicles were acquired under the European project of zero-emission public transport ZeEUS. The 125 kWh batteries are charged using a pantograph. Chargers were supplied by Polish firm Ekoenergetyka from
Zielona Góra Zielona Góra (; ''Green Mountain''; ) is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (). The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, Wine Fest. Zie ...
. The Barcelona buses can carry up to 110 passengers, including 37 passengers on seats. They have been assigned to service the bus line H19.


The new Solaris Urbino (4th generation)

In 2014, Solaris showcased the Solaris Urbino 18 of the new (fourth) generation, though still with a conventional driveline. Then in 2015, Solaris presented the 12-metre version of the new generation electric bus, whereas the new Solaris Urbino 18 electric premièred at the Busworld trade fair in the Belgian city of
Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...
in autumn 2017. Most structural solutions were taken over from the diesel equivalent of the articulated model or the electric models of the previous generation. The vehicle is propelled by a 240 kW central traction motor. Both plug-in or pantograph recharging can be applied to the batteries of the “Solaris High Energy” or the “Solaris High Power”, each with a capacity adjusted to user needs. Depending on the interior layout, the bus can carry up to 135 passengers. Solaris scored orders for the first new-generation articulated buses with alternative drives already in the middle of 2016. Three vehicles, together with 17 MAXI class buses, were commissioned by public transport operator MPK Kraków. Solaris had been the sole bidder. A month later Solaris secured orders for nine articulated electric buses to be delivered to operator PKM
Jaworzno Jaworzno is a City with powiat rights, city county in southern Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship, near Katowice. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza river (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Jaworzno belongs to Lesser Pol ...
1/sup>. The manufacturer offered new generation vehicles in both calls for tenders. The first pictures of the Urbino 18 electric during assembly were released in January 2017. Back then it was announced that the bus would head to Warsaw for three-year test runs for operator MZA
Warszawa Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greate ...
. In August 2017, the first three articulated electric buses drove out onto Cracow streets for a preview before the official première. It is worth noting that one of these buses was the 15,000th vehicle made by the manufacturer. In September 2017, the first vehicle of this type to be produced was released for test rides in Poznań. In November, right after the official début at the Busworld trade fair, the vehicle ended up in Warsaw. It was lent to operator MZA for a three-year test period. In the same month, nine new Urbino 18 electric were delivered to Jaworzno. December 2017 saw the opening of bids submitted in a call for tender for five articulated electric buses for public transport operator PKM
Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
. Solaris placed the only bid in this tender, and went on to win the order. The delivery of the buses was planned for the turn of 2018 and 2019. Solaris has also won a large tender for the supply of electric buses for Belgian public transport provider
STIB The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company ( or ; or ) is the local public transport operator in Brussels, Belgium. It is usually referred to in English by the double acronym STIB/MIVB, or by its French acronym, STIB. STIB/MIVB is responsi ...
– pursuant to the contract, Solaris is to deliver 25 Urbino 18 electric buses to
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
in 2019.


Operators


References


External links

{{Official website, https://www.solarisbus.com/en/vehicles/alternative-drives/urbino-electric, name=Solaris Urbino 18 electric in solarisbus.com
Electric buses 18 electric Low-floor buses Articulated buses