If any part of the transportation sector deserves to be electrified it is school buses. Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes Benz, is the owner of Thomas Built Buses, one of the largest school bus manufacturers in North America. In 2017 it unveiled Jouley, an electrified school bus with zero tailpipe emissions.
Recently Daimler was the lead investor in a $155 million funding round for Proterra, the American electric bus company headquartered in California. Proterra has established itself as a leading supplier of batteries and battery management systems for heavy duty vehicles. It made more sense for Daimler to partner with a recognized leader in the field than develop its own batteries and ancillary systems.
Last week at the 44th annual National Association of Pupil Transportation Conference, the two companies introduced the latest Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner eC2 electric school bus powered by Proterra. Recharging takes about 3 hours using a J1772 Combo plug drawing 60 kW of power. That suggests the battery capacity is about 180 kWh, according to Inside EVs.
In a press release about the new buses, Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra said, “School buses provide critical community infrastructure and are an excellent application for vehicle electrification. We’re pleased to work with an industry leader like Thomas Built Buses to unveil a high performance electric school bus that reduces our children’s exposure to diesel emissions.”
Read more at Proterra & Daimler Team Up to Manufacture Electric School Buses
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