‘The first Polish Mega class bus with multi-axle electric motor powered by low-emission gas’ is The official project name of a joint action of Solaris Bus & Coach S.A., Warsaw University of Technology and Poznan University of Technology. This impressive endeavor is financially supported by The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR) within the InnoTech programme.
The ambitious project is about designing, building and eventually testing a mega class bus of over 20 metres in length, which is to be powered by electric motors and fuelled with low-emission gas.
The total volume of the project is nearly €3 million, of which almost €1.5 million is funding from The National Centre for Research and Development within the InnoTech programme. The implementation of the project was planned for the period from December 2012 to November 2015. However due to the fact that Solaris intends to increase the volume of research and development work, the company currently is consulting with NCBiR about an extension of the project for a further year.
Solaris recently applied similar drive technology in two 18.75-metre articulated electric buses, which were delivered to Hamburg in December 2014. The new project is intended to create an even more technically advanced product, if only because of its length.
Apart from the general blueprints of the bus, the new vehicle’s visual design has also been finished. The 24-metre Solaris will be based on the new version of the Urbino family that had its world premiere at IAA exhibition in September 2014.
After research and development work the new construction will enlarge Solaris’s product range. Interest for the new product of engineers from Solaris and the Universities of Technology in Warsaw and Poznań has already been noted, in particular from German and Scandinavian operators.
