Frankfurt to Add to Their Existing Hydrogen Bus Fleet

With the rollout of hydrogen vehicles in Europe seemingly increasing each month, Frankfurt are the latest to announce a new fleet of Solaris buses through the ICB as part of a larger €6.5m project. 

Producing a further 10 hydrogen-powered Solaris buses, the business case for this type of vehicle is continually growing. 

Joining the existing fleet of 13 Solaris’ Urbino vehicles running in the city, citizens are expected to be travelling on the new buses by Q1 2024. Partly funded through the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport, nearly €3m of the 6.5 allocated will come from public investments. 

The ICB operates over 50% of all buses in the area with 228 vehicles and over 30 routes. This places the future of hydrogen and electric buses in the area in a positive light if the second rollout goes well. 

This could have wider implications for the hydrogen economy as Frankfurt could be seen as a hub for hydrogen, with wider storage and production projects potentially stemming from this.  

Stefan Majer, Head of Mobility for the City of Frankfurt, said, “In addition to the advantages of the long-range in daily operation, the technology convinces with its high level of operational stability. We had very good experiences with our first hydrogen buses of the same type when electrifying the M36 metro bus line.