Date: Mar 15, 2012 Author: Philippe Crow Source: HybridCars.com (
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The prospect of riding an all-electric shuttle to the airport just got one step closer.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) granted Motiv Power Systems $1.16 million for an assembly line pilot run of four electric truck chassis in partnership with Detroit Chassis.
Based in California, Motiv Power Systems focuses on electric vehicle powertrains for commercial trucks -- upon which the aforementioned airport shuttle could also be based, not to mention other route delivery applications, and other uses.
The grant is intended to further validate Motiv's Electric Powertrain Control System (ePCS), which, according to Motiv, provides a 100-mile range. Motiv also says that the total cost of ownership is approximately 50-percent less than for a diesel powertrain over an 8-year period.
Motiv's ePCS is aimed at commercial trucks, shuttle buses and delivery vehicles.
Rather than offer a single electric truck model with limited component selection, Motiv's ePCS works with a wide range of batteries and motors. This flexibility allows fleets to choose their battery vendors as well as vehicle range and power.
Motiv says its ePCS actively manages power flow between all electrical components in the vehicle; it also captures and wirelessly broadcasts data to the Motiv "cloud" for monitoring and analysis. Factors such as battery charge, vehicle status and health provide detailed real-time analytics to support fleet operators in preventive service maintenance.
A demonstration shuttle bus was available for test drives at the Green Truck Ride-and-Drive event, part of the Work Truck Show and Green Truck Summit, March 6-9 in Indianapolis.
