Aerospace and Defense company BAE Systems will provide its Gen3 electric drive system to Nova Bus as part of North America’s largest battery electric bus order to date, which consists of 1,229 vehicles.
The electric people-carriers built by Nova Bus with BAE Systems’ drive units will be used by the 10 transit authorities members of the Association du Transport Urbain du Quebec (ATUQ), which makes up 99 percent of the public transportation in major urban centers in the province of Quebec, Canada. The buses will be delivered by Nova Bus, which is a subsidiary of Volvo Group, over a 3-year period starting in 2025.
This latest order builds upon the 1,800 electric buses already in use in the Canadian province, which use the 200-kilowatt BAE Systems HDS200 electric motor. More impressively, the torque figure sits at 3,835 pound-feet (5,200 Newton-meters).
A modular battery architecture offers up to 594 kilowatt-hours of energy storage on the go, while a CCS plug can provide up to 150 kW of power to replenish the cells. There’s also the option of overhead charging, which can top up the battery pack at a rate of up to 450 kW.
The Gen3 drive system features an electric motor and advanced power electronics that make use of new technology such as silicon carbide to improve heat management and increase the performance of the vehicle.
Based on the Nova Bus LFS platform, the frames for this order will be built at Saint-Francois-du-Lac and the buses will be assembled at the Saint-Eustache facility, in Quebec.
Marc-Andre Varin, general manager of ATUQ, said:
“This order represents our collective commitment to improving air quality, meeting the provincial government’s ambitious targets, and contributing to Canada’s zero-emission future. BAE Systems has been with us from the beginning of our journey, starting with electric-hybrids and now the switch to all-electric buses. This is a big leap forward in our plans to provide sustainable transit service.”
The electric buses are 40 feet (12.19 meters) long, 8.5 ft (2.59 m) wide, and 10 ft 8 inches (3.25 m) tall, and can seat up to 41 people plus 27 standing passengers, according to Electrek.
Bob Lamanna, VP and general manager of Power and Propulsion at BAE Systems, said:
“This order marks the next step toward full fleet electrification – delivering reliable, high-performance systems to help ATUQ’s members reach their environmental goals.”
Established in 1999 in London, UK, the Aerospace and Defense company says its electric propulsion systems are being used in over 16,000 buses worldwide.