The solar mobility OEM Sono Motors announced the signing of a letter of intent (LoI) with ÖPNV-Service Hagen. The parties aim to conclude a contract concerning a partnership for Sono Motors’ solar retrofit solution, the Solar Bus Kit. As part of the partnership, the companies are expected to cooperate on the Kit’s installation, after-sales and logistics services to increase assembly capacity in Europe and provide fast and professional retrofits, as well as maintenance. ÖPNV-Service has over 15 years of experience as a service provider in the public transportation sector and performs 4,000 modernizations of commercial vehicles annually.
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“While the transition of public transportation towards a zero-emission future will still take a few years, the Solar Bus Kit is a solution that enables an immediate response to new emission regulations, like the Euro 7 standard, and increasing energy prices. To meet the needs of the industry and help our bus operators to cut costs and emissions throughout their fleets, we were looking for a partner who can support us with implementing our Solar Bus Kit,” says Laurin Hahn, CEO & co-founder of Sono Motors.
The Solar Bus Kit is a versatile and straightforward solution, optimized for the most common 12-meter public transport bus types on the European market, including Mercedes-Benz Citaro and MAN Lion City. It allows subsystems, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), to be partially powered by renewable energy, thereby saving fuel, CO2, and costs. The Kit can save up to 1,500 liters of diesel and up to 4 tonnes of CO2 per bus per year from the approximately 1.4 kW peak installation with about 8 sqm of solar panels. Bus fleet operators stand to see a potential payback time of approximately 3-4 years, depending on days in operation and fuel prices.
Lars Löhle, Head of Product Sono Solar, says: “We intend to enter into a cooperation with ÖPNV-Service to provide fast installation and maintenance for our national and international customers while meeting our quality standards.”
ÖPNV-Service’s field of expertise lies in the areas of cabling, repair, maintenance, and services for public transportation. The company retrofits several thousand means of transport per year and is listed as an official supplier for various fleet operators, like Deutsche Bahn, which operates over 17,000 buses.
The partners signed an LoI to express their mutual interest in this cooperation. The current negotiations aim to conclude a contract and start operations in the fourth quarter of 2022. With respect to long-term cooperation, the parties are looking into expanding their partnership to sales and distribution of the Kit. Sono Motors will announce more information on the Solar Bus Kit during IAA Transportation from 19 – 25 September, 1 Hall 26 Booth C02 and at InnoTrans from 20 – 23 September, Mobility+ exhibition area, Hall 7.1c, Booth 210.