Projects

Motiv Power Systems, Inc. Grant Agreement For the Prototype Shuttle for Motiv’s Power Control System Project

An Energy Commission grant will help Motiv Power Systems, Inc. incorporate its electric-drive system in a new class 4 shuttle bus, giving it a 100-mile all-electric range. Motiv’s system uses battery packs designed for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets by Berkeley-based Seeo, Inc. The shuttle itself will be tested by Bauer’s Worldwide Transportation on its Bay-area and Silicon Valley routes which service the campuses of Google, Cisco, Facebook, Yahoo along with other clients.

This project’s goal is to eventually retrofit an existing diesel fleet of medium-duty vehicles with new electric-vehicle technology to increase fleet fuel efficiency, lower overall greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce adverse impacts to the environment.

Grant Amount

$1,345,552

Match Funding

$1,345,552 from the project’s participants.

Project Participants

Motiv Power Systems, Inc. will provide lead technical management for this project. For the shuttle the Foster City, California-based technology company will develop or adapt its innovative Power Control System, which regulates electrical power between components such as the batteries, motor, auxiliary power supply, and optional generator, using distributed power electronics and controls.

Seeo, Inc. has an exclusive license for core technology from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and occupies a 10,000 square foot research and development facility in Berkeley, California. Seeo’s team will provide the battery technology development, processing, and testing for this project’s aggressive energy storage goals of 100 miles all-electric range on a shuttle bus.

Bauer’s Worldwide Transportation, headquartered in San Francisco, presently runs 143 vehicles around the Bay Area and received the prestigious “green highway” award from the United Motorcoach Association for their commitment to green stewardship. The Bauer’s team will perform the mechanical integration of the powertrain to the vehicle chassis and provide maintenance for the shuttle during operation.

Project Benefits

This shuttle will feature an expected payback period of around 3 years. Over 8 years, its total cost of ownership will be only 55 percent of a traditional diesel shuttle. The vehicle will save 40,000 gallons of diesel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 435 tons over that 8-year period. The project will directly add 19 high-tech positions between Motiv, Bauer, and Seeo, with many more jobs possible as the technology develops.