Australian company SEA Electric and Midwest Transit Equipment (MTE) have partnered to update 10,000 school buses with battery-electric power systems. This is the biggest deal of its kind to date and paves the way for a zero-emissions future for children’s transport in North America.
MTE, one of the largest school bus dealers in the country, will be able to provide clients with a near new 100 percent electric bus at a fraction of the cost of a new electric school bus. The deal will cover both Type A and Type C school buses, with the deliveries scheduled over the next five years.
These buses will be powered by SEA Electric’s SEA-Drive(R) power system that currently powers buses and work trucks on four continents and six countries with over a million miles of real-world use globally.
SEA Electric will power near-new fully electric buses and extend their service life by ten plus years. This partnership promotes the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principle of secondary use, while reducing waste, eliminating diesel particulates and most importantly positively impacting the health and wellbeing of our students.
Each bus will have the ability to deliver full vehicle-to-grid capabilities, with the SEA-Drive(R) power system able to feed electricity back into the power grid to improve stability when connected to a charging station.
The partnership signifies a major step forward in reducing the carbon footprint of bus fleets, while also accelerating the industry to electrification at a desirable price point. Two to three re-powered buses can be delivered at the same price as a new electric bus.
Tony Fairweather, SEA Electric founder and CEO, said: “This commitment is the most significant in this segment to-date. It not only illustrates the appetite for transition to 100 percent electric transport, it defines the point-in-time that the commercial vehicle industry transitioned to sustainable scale, without the need for incentives.
John McKinney, Midwest Transport Equipment CEO, said: “This partnership will allow us to react to our customer’s needs more quickly and will compliment new bus sales.
“As the industry moves towards zero emissions we are positioned well with our SEA Electric partnership to be a leader of the electrification movement.” said John McKinney.”
