Ballard announces a purchase order for 25 hydrogen fuel cell engines from Solaris to power buses in Poland

Ballard Power Systems on Thursday announced a purchase order from repeat customer Solaris Bus & Coach sp. z o.o., one of the leading European bus and trolleybus manufacturers, for twenty-five hydrogen fuel cell engines. Solaris is headquartered in Bolechowo-Osiedle near Poznań. It is a subsidiary of the Spanish CAF.

The Solaris’ Urbino 12 hydrogen buses, which will be used by the Polish public transport operator MPK Poznań, will be equipped with 70kW fuel cells which are anticipated to be presented in the second half of 2023.

Zero emission

The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management’s Green Public Transport program will partially help fund some of the buses. By 2028, MPK Poznań expects 30% of its fleet would be zero-emission. These twenty-five hydrogen fuel cell buses will boost its zero-emission fleet from 18% to 25%.

Poznań is capitalizing on clean technologies, innovation, and in the future. This massive order sets the carrier among the most advanced public transport operators in Europe, those that are aimed primarily at clean air in cities and enhancing the quality of life for the next generation of their residents, said Javier Calleja CEO at Solaris Bus & Coach S.A.

The hydrogen Urbino 12 hydrogen emanates only water vapor. Shortly, the benefits and comfort of traveling by hydrogen Solaris will be accessible to Poznan residents, Calleja added during the signing of the contract.

Ballard is excited about the opportunity to continue to support Solaris in providing zero-emission hydrogen solutions for its customers, said David Mucciacciaro, Vice President, and Chief Commercial Officer at Ballard Power Systems.

Mucciacciaro said the company is considering enhanced demand for hydrogen fuel cell buses in Europe, expanding across central and eastern Europe, and look forward to continued partnership with Solaris to meet this growing demand.

About Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power’s vision is to deliver fuel cell power for a sustainable world. Ballard zero-emission PEM fuel cells are facilitating the electrification of mobility, as well as buses, trains, commercial trucks, marine vessels, and stationary power. Fuel cell electric buses offer a one-to-one replacement for diesel and CNG buses, with no negotiation in service.

The Ballard experiences

With more than 15 years on the road and millions of kilometers in passenger service, fuel-cell electric buses have proven their performance, establishing reliable operation and extensive daily drive cycles during all seasons and in demanding geographies. At present, there are over 1,300+ fuel cell electric buses powered by Ballard deployed worldwide.

Buses powered by Ballard have attained durability records with over 35,000 hours of revenue service. This is tantamount to operating a bus on a 14-hour daily schedule, 5 days per week for over eight years with no sizeable maintenance to the fuel cell stack, a core engine factor.

Ballard motive modules have been created for integration into advanced hybrid transit buses from 8 to 18 meters (35 to 60 feet), as well as double-decker buses.

Hydrogen offers operational flexibility

Hydrogen is valuable for the centralized fuelling of transit fleets. Speedy refueling means buses have less downtime and higher utilization. Chronically, organizations can install hydrogen refueling infrastructure with a related footprint to CNG refueling. At present, several businesses offer turnkey hydrogen infrastructure solutions and are developing methods to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy.