Bologna, 25 May 2026
Zero-emission mobility continues to gather pace
Hydrogen buses make their Bologna debut today
With the authorisation process for the advanced refuelling facility at the Via Battindarno depot completed on schedule, hydrogen buses made their debut in Bologna this morning.
The first “Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen” vehicles operated by Tper entered service today on selected runs of routes 11, 14, 20, 36 and 92. In the coming days, Tper passengers will see them increasingly often on city streets, to be joined progressively by the rest of the fleet of the same type. Once fully deployed, the Bologna network will have 127 hydrogen-powered Solaris fuel cell buses: they will be used primarily on urban routes requiring 12-metre vehicles and on suburban links between the city and the wider metropolitan area.
These are vehicles with zero harmful tailpipe emissions and they will help advance Bologna’s ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2030, twenty years ahead of the target set by the EU, as one of Europe’s 100 mission cities.
By bringing these vehicles into operation, Tper joins the ranks of Italian operators that have successfully delivered a complex investment with positive environmental and public-service benefits for citizens, in line with the deadlines set by the European Commission and the Italian government for the use of PNRR funds.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses, combining maximum environmental compatibility with considerable range and operational flexibility, are another important component of the green mobility strategy completing Tper’s energy and technology mix in the city, alongside the continuing expansion of battery-electric buses and trolleybuses and, in the near future, the tram.
It is worth recalling that hydrogen buses also fully qualify as electric vehicles: by combining hydrogen and oxygen from the air in the presence of a catalyst, and therefore without thermal combustion, the fuel cell generates the electricity that powers the electric motor, with water vapour as its only emission.
Exceptionally quiet, capable of travelling more than 400 kilometres on a single refuelling, fitted with climate control for year-round comfort and fully accessible to all categories of passenger, Tper’s new hydrogen buses are the latest contribution to cleaner air and to the environmentally sustainable technological transition in public transport that the company has been pursuing for years.
Tper SpA
