Electric Vehicle company Motiv Power Systems secures $1.16 million grant

Motiv_bus

Electric Vehicle company Motiv Power Systems secures $1.16 million grant


By
Greentech Lead Team;
 Motiv Power Systems, an innovator in
electric vehicle (EV) powertrains for commercial trucks, announced it has
received a $1.16 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) for
an assembly line pilot run of four electric truck chassis in partnership with
Detroit Chassis.

The grant will further validate Motiv’s Electric
Powertrain Control System (ePCS), which provides a 100-mile range and whose
total cost of ownership is approximately 50 percent less than a diesel
powertrain over an 8 year period.

“Our ePCS design accommodates a wide variety of
off-the-shelf batteries and components, allowing EV designers and truck chassis
builders the flexibility to combine various components to meet a range of
specifications without designing a new powertrain from scratch,” said Jim
Castelaz, founder and CEO of Motiv Power Systems.  

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’s ePCS actively manages power flow between
all electrical components in the vehicle through its intelligent software
control algorithms.

It also captures and wirelessly broadcasts data such as
battery charge, vehicle status and health provide detailed real-time analytics
to the Motiv “cloud” for monitoring and analysis.

“Vehicle fleet owners view electric vehicles as a
way to reduce both their carbon emissions and their operating cost. High
capital costs are often cited as the barrier to EV adoption. But Motiv’s
technology enables component flexibility and holds the potential to reduce the
costs of EVs and allow electric trucks to become more mainstream,” said
John Formisano, advisory board member, Motiv and chairman of CALSTART.

In early 2011, Motiv Power Systems signed  a
new supply agreement with Dow Kokam to develop advanced lithium-ion battery
systems to convert a Class 4, Ford E-450 diesel chassis to a completely
electric system for a passenger shuttle bus.


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