The city of Gdynia in Poland has ordered 30 battery-equipped trolleybuses from the Polish firm Solaris Bus & Coach, at a total cost of around $28 million. In addition to traditional trolleybus drivelines, which draw power from overhead wires, the new Solaris buses will be fitted with batteries that enable driving off the traction line.

Fourteen of the new vehicles are Solaris Trollino 12 trolleybuses, which will feature 58 kWh battery packs; 16 are articulated Trollino 18 models, which will be equipped with 87 kWh packs. Both types will be able to cover dozens of kilometers in zero-emission mode without the use of a pantograph. The new trolleybuses are to be deployed by spring 2019.

Under the contract, Solaris will also provide lithium-ion batteries, with appropriate power electronics, which the city will use to modernize 21 other vehicles by replacing their existing nickel-cadmium batteries.

“Trolleybuses in Gdynia have become a recognizable quality brand for green transport,” said Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała, Deputy Mayor of Gdynia. “Once this order is carried out, we will be able to replace buses on some lines with trolleybuses. Moreover, the new articulated vehicles will carry nearly twice as many people as standard vehicles at a comparable cost of operation.”

Source: Green Car Congress