Batteries are included

Optare, which has a turnover of 90m, is developing buses which don't harm the environment.

Optare has appointed Valence as the exclusive supplier of batteries for its fully electric bus, the Optare Solo EV.

Robert L Kanode, the president and chief executive of Valence Technology, which is based in Austin, Texas, said: "Thanks to the UK Government's Green Bus Fund, bus manufacturers are striving to meet stringent carbon quotas while allowing riders to breathe cleaner air by putting more zero-emissions bus fleets on the road."

The Optare Solo EV is expected to be cheaper to run than conventional buses because it doesn't need as much maintenance.

Optare is one of the UK's biggest bus manufacturing companies.

It employs around 500 people at its manufacturing sites in Leeds and Blackburn and service centres around the country.