ABC Companies, MTRWestern Complete Road Trip with Battery-Electric Motorcoach

ABC Companies announced it has recently completed a long‐distance road trip with customer MTRWestern with a 100% battery‐electric Van Hool CX45E motorcoach. 

This demonstration unit is the same make and model ABC began delivering to customers in early 2021 and is used for ongoing data collection and performance benchmarking with customer specific applications.

The demonstration covered nearly 1,700 miles round trip, starting in Newark, Calif., to the destination in Seattle, Wash. and then returning to Newark, Calif.

During several legs of the journey, various MTRWestern passenger groups experienced a trip aboard the 100% battery‐electric Van Hool CX45E, traveling to destinations throughout northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Given the extended distance of this demonstration, existing publicly available charging stations were used along the route. The motorcoach averaged 280 miles of total projected range between charges over the course of the trip, with some legs projecting well in excess of 300 miles.

This demonstration was also designed to test the viability of charging stations along a typical route. The data and learning focused on equipment performance and commercial grid access. Charging stations were available at regular intervals with plenty of range to spare, although several locations were not designed to readily accommodate larger passenger vehicles.

Charging times were shorter than projected, averaging 2.5 to 3 hours, as the vehicle never used more than 65% of the available battery on each leg of the trip, due to the energy density of the standard Proterra Powered battery packs.

“Between the almost 1700 miles of total round‐trip distance covered, and with some legs of the trip projecting over 300 miles between charges, we were asked multiple times if we should apply for a 'world record,'" said Roman Cornell, ABC president/COO. "The reality is, we continue to beat our own records as we transport the CX45E and the upcoming Van Hool TDX25E double deck across country utilizing the existing publicly available grid. Our customers who have the CX45E in their fleets also continue to see increases in range as their drivers improve their ability to manage energy usage."

Performance gighlights: 

• Round trip averaged an industry leading 280 miles of projected range per charge while in commercial operation
• Total energy used 3,400 kwh vs 262 gallons of equivalent diesel fuel
• Significant energy cost savings depending on electric rates at time and location of charge
• 2.3 Metric Tons of C02 emissions avoided during demonstration

“The CX45E’s performance over the trip was truly impressive," said Todd Paulson, director of Operations at MTRWestern. “This is a great success that demonstrates the power and reliability of electric transport using the charging eco‐system that exists today. ABC’s contribution made this unprecedented journey possible, and we are proud to demonstrate our commitment to pursuing carbon neutral solutions to the industry and our customer base."