US-based lithium-ion battery producer Octillion Power Systems is to provide battery packs for all-electric motorcoaches and city transit buses offered by manufacturers ABC Companies and Lightning eMotors.
With its entry into the motorcoach and bus markets, Octillion’s batteries will be used to repower models including Van Hool T2145E highline touring coaches and TD high-capacity double-deck coaches to 100% battery electric power. The coaches will be equipped with an electric powertrain from Lightning eMotors, a developer of zero-emission vehicles for commercial fleets, which will design and develop the vehicles at its headquarters in Loveland, Colorado.
“Electrification is taking over every vehicle segment,” said Paul Beach, president, Octillion Power Systems. “Vehicles from passenger cars to motorcoaches are being electrified, and today’s high-powered batteries are enabling this transformation. The customized battery packs that we’re supplying to the transit bus and motorcoach markets are yet another example of this transformation.
“While transportation is responsible for a quarter of global emissions, buses and diesel buses in particular play an outsized role in producing emissions that negatively impact the climate and environment,” Beach continued. “As people movers, they present these problems daily and up close to places where populations are most concentrated. Electrification of bus fleets has become a priority in many regions of the world, with nearly 500,000 EV buses now running globally. Electric buses also offer the passenger less vibration, less noise and zero exhaust. We integrate our battery management system with the vehicle’s control unit, offering configurations of up to 800V and 640kWh in capacity. That enables them to provide superior power and torque compared to diesel buses.”