New Drivetrain For Catalyst E-Bus

On the opening day of the APTA show in Atlanta, Proterra announced it has introduced a new for its Catalyst battery-electric vehicles. With the new DuoPower drivetrain, Proterra said the Catalyst bus will now have nearly twice the horsepower and acceleration and will be five times more efficient than a standard diesel bus. In addition, the performance of the DuoPower drivetrain represents a 20% increase in efficiency over Proterra’s standard ProDrive system, the company said.

For the Catalyst E2 max, the DuoPower drivetrain enables a nominal range of 426 miles on a single charge, which exceeds the average distance of North American transit routes. Proterra recently tested the DuoPower drivetrain at the Navistar Proving Grounds in Indiana, achieving a record range for an electric vehicle, where the 40 ft. Catalyst E2 max traveled 1101.2 miles on a single charge.

“When Proterra originally introduced EV technology to the transit industry, we proved that EVs could compete with fossil fuel vehicles and replace diesel buses in most cities,” said Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra. “But we didn’t stop there.

“We continued to innovate, and today we’re announcing a drivetrain that completely outperforms an internal combustion diesel or CNG engine in every major performance category – efficiency, reliability, acceleration, hill climb and passenger-carrying power. In transit, state-of-the-art vehicle performance is now defined by EV technology like our new DuoPower driveline. For fleet customers that want the very best speed, power, energy efficiency and reliability — EV is the answer.”

Designed for durability, Proterra’s DuoPower drivetrain features two electric motors that deliver 510 hp, accelerating a Catalyst bus from zero to 20 mph in 4.5 seconds, the company said. Along with performance, the vehicle also achieves 26.1 equivalent mpg, Proterra said.

The DuoPower system can propel a bus up a 26% grade, which Proterra said is more than twice the performance of the average 35 or 40 ft. diesel bus, and 72% better than competing electric transit vehicles.    

“Proterra’s DuoPower drivetrain unlocks new route opportunities.  The link between Salt Lake City and Park City on I-80 through Parleys Canyon is an important route for us. Now, with the new drivetrain, this is achievable with electric buses,” said Destry Pollard, Park City Transit operations team leader. “We’ve been really impressed with the way Proterra Catalyst buses have handled mountain roads, and are pleased we can provide state-of-the-art performance, while preserving local air quality here in Park City.”

For more information: www.proterra.com