Over the last few months, a series of purchases and awards of electric buses have been made in Spain, all motivated by the Next Generation funding round.

In this regard, it is worth noting that so far Irizar, ByD and Solaris have led the list of companies awarded by the different local transport operators.

Likewise, the choices are mostly focused on 100% electric units, in some cases hybrids, and we are already seeing allied cases of green hydrogen cell incorporations.

Here, the details:

Valladolid

Recently, in an exclusive dialogue with Portal Movilidad España, it was announced that the latest tender for 11 100% electric articulated buses with charging in the bus depot was awarded to the company Irizar.

The new units will be delivered in the next seven to eight months, according to the authorities of the local transport company.

It is expected that they could be the 12-metre models that have already been seen in different Spanish cities, but no details have been provided so far.

Valencia

Among the latest electric bus contracts is the tender launched by Valencia’s EMT, which has selected Man’s Lion’s City 12 E models.

The new 20 electric vehicles will be 12 metres long and have three doors. They will have a total capacity of 98 seats, of which 26 are seated (plus the driver) and 52 standing.

They will have four seats reserved for people with reduced mobility, two spaces for wheelchairs and another for a pram.

These units will have six battery modules with a capacity of 480 kWh located on the roof. The Lion’s City 12 E’s batteries feature lithium-ion technology (NMC) and a monitoring system, to balance safety, long life and energy content in the future.

All this while taking into account available weight and space, robustness and costs. They can be fully charged in less than three hours at 150 kW and in less than five hours at 80 kW.

Barcelona

For its part, the city of Barcelona is flooded with units from the CAF group.

Through its subsidiary Solaris, it has been awarded 87 new 12-metre hybrid electric buses, which will be delivered by the end of 2022.

These are in addition to another order placed last year for another 30 units of the Urbino 12 model, the same as the one agreed for the new delivery.

This is a bus that offers low operating costs for operators and provides a safe and comfortable travel experience for users. All this, with a range of more than 200 kilometres.

Palma

Solaris’ leadership continues to be seen in the tenders of the EMT of Palma, which confirmed the purchase of five 12-metre units for 3,935,000 euros.

In contrast to the other tenders, this one was for buses with green hydrogen fuel cell propulsion.

It produces no local emissions because the only by-product of the chemical reaction that takes place in the hydrogen fuel cell is water. Thanks to the use of advanced technologies, it guarantees a range of up to 350 km.

Refuelling takes only a few minutes, which makes the bus very easy to operate and provides flexibility for local transport operators.

Compared to diesel vehicles, it produces only slight vibrations and the noise level is hardly noticeable.

At present, Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses can be seen, for example, on the streets of Bolzano in Italy, Cologne and Wuppertal in Germany, as well as in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands.

Seville

The Seville Metropolitan Transport Consortium has recently acquired a new Iveco electric vehicle.

According to the company, this bus is 10.7 metres long by 2.3 metres wide, narrower than usual.

It is equipped with Zen Lion Lithium batteries of 350 kilowatts per hour and has a power and charging time of 100 kilowatts and four hours, with its Combo 2 recharging system (CCs2).

Madrid

In mid-2021, the EMT awarded the procurement of 50 electric buses, the awarding of which is marked, in this first stage, by two companies: 20 vehicles will be from Irizar IeBus and the remaining ten from BYD Europe.

EMT Madrid‘s latest 12-metre electric eBuses, BYD’s best-selling model in Europe, feature an improved interior design that includes a new handrail layout to accommodate a larger standing passenger capacity.

They also feature the new MirrorEye technology that enhances safety by expanding the driver’s field of vision and replaces the vehicle’s exterior mirrors.

In addition to reliability, BYD offers an impressive operating range, competitive maintenance costs and an extended manufacturer’s warranty.

Elche

In July 2021, the new AUESA buses were awarded to the group company Avanza by mobility ADO.

The electric traction as the basis of the operation of these buses implies a substantial reduction in the emission of polluting gases into the atmosphere. It emits 30% less CO2 than a conventional bus.

These buses have an Arrive&Go system, using GPS location, and under normal conditions, the bus arrives at the stop, loads and unloads passengers, and starts to run in 100% electric mode, with zero polluting emissions.

It does not need to be plugged in, the buses only generate the electricity needed when running in hybrid mode.

The energy is stored in Ultracapacitors, with a capacity of 1kWh, which allows for rapid charging and discharging, which do not require changes or maintenance during the life of the bus.

The 12-metre vehicles can carry up to 105 passengers and have 3 double doors.