Octillion selected as a battery supplier for new zero-emission motorcoaches from ABC Companies and Lightning eMotors

HAYWARD, Calif., Jan. 14, 2021 – Octillion Power Systems, a global provider of advanced lithium-ion batteries, today announced that it is providing battery packs for all-electric motorcoaches and city transit buses offered by ABC Companies and Lightning eMotors. The order marks the company’s first time supplying batteries for motorcoaches and buses in North America.

With its entry into the motorcoach and bus markets, Octillion’s batteries will be used to repower popular models including Van Hool T2145E highline touring coaches and TD high-capacity double-deck coaches to 100 percent battery electric power. Coaches will be powered by an all-electric powertrain from Lightning eMotors, a developer of zero-emission vehicles for commercial fleets. The motorcoaches and city transit buses are designed and developed by Lightning eMotors at their headquarters in Loveland, Colorado.

“Electrification is taking over every vehicle segment,” said Paul Beach, president, Octillion Power Systems. “Vehicles from passenger cars to motorcoaches are being electrified, and today’s high-powered batteries are enabling this transformation. The customized battery packs that we’re supplying to the transit bus and motorcoach markets are yet another example of this transformation.”

The electric motorcoaches from Lightning eMotors and ABC Companies, a leading provider of motorcoach sales and support in the USA and Canada, are on sale now and available throughout the United States. ABC Companies is headquartered in Winter Garden, Florida.

“While transportation is responsible for a quarter of global emissions, buses and diesel buses in particular play an outsized role in producing emissions that negatively impact the climate and environment,” Beach said. “As people movers, they present these problems daily and up close to places where populations are most concentrated. Electrification of bus fleets has become a priority in many regions of the world, with nearly 500,000 EV buses now running globally.

“Electric buses also offer the passenger less vibration, less noise, and zero exhaust,” Beach added. “We seamlessly integrate our battery management system with the vehicle’s control unit, offering configurations of up to 800 volts and 640 kWh in capacity. That enables them to provide superior power and torque compared to diesel buses.”