The Polish electric bus manufacturer Solaris will be
presenting a battery update for the Urbino 18 at Busworld Europe in October
this year. The battery is from a different (unnamed) supplier and will have an
increased capacity of up to 550 kWh.
Solaris announced the update at a press conference
in Poland. Currently, the maximum capacity is 300 kWh. The CAF-owned Polish
company will also be presenting Trollino 24 trolleybus, which is currently
still in the test phase, will also be presented at the trade fair in Brussels.
Just a few weeks ago, Solaris presented a facelifted
version of the Urbino 12 at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit in
Stockholm. The bus was presented in both a battery-electric and fuel cell
versions. The changes to the fully-electric bus were mainly related to the
design. Now Solaris is focussing on the new batteries which will be installed
in the buses from October.
The new battery is called the “Solaris High Energy+”
and has seven modules making up a total capacity of 550 kWh. This should enable
a range of at least 200 kilometres. The higher capacity is made possible by a
new battery cell supplier. Solaris is keeping the name of the company under
wraps. With the new cells, it is now possible to store 79 kWh on the same space
as the former 50 kWh module. However, the new modules are around 30 per cent
heavier.
The battery in the Solaris Trollino 24 is much
smaller, but in the 24-metre-long trolleybus, the battery only serves as a
buffer and emergency storage for routes without overhead lines. The Trollino 24
can carry 180 to 200 passengers depending on the client’s required spatial
design. According to the company, Solaris is already in talks with two cities
for the Trollino, one of these is in Poland.
