New Flyer Industries Inc. announced today the unveiling of its prototype all-electric 40-foot Xcelsior heavy-duty transit bus in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

The unveiling was hosted by Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger and representatives from the partnership including: the Manitoba Government, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), New Flyer’s subsidiary, New Flyer Industries Canada ULC, Manitoba Hydro and Red River College.

The prototype is based on New Flyer’s successful 40-foot Xcelsior heavy-duty transit bus, North America’s most advanced bus platform available today, according to the company. The bus is equipped with an electric drive and is modified to carry advanced lithium ion batteries from MHI that are charged from the city’s electrical grid instead of by a conventional diesel engine.

Further demonstration and testing of the electric bus will occur during the next two years starting with dry-run operational testing by project personnel and then moving to operation under select route conditions.

The electric bus project is the first major activity undertaken under the Memorandum of Understanding on Renewable Energy Development between Manitoba and MHI, signed in 2010.

The agreement created the structure for a series of potential collaborative projects between Manitoba and MHI in eight areas: electrification of transportation and recharging infrastructure projects; battery-storage technologies; heat-pump technologies; advanced biofuels technologies; wind-energy technologies; energy-efficiency technologies and systems; solar technologies and silicon processing; and integrated energy production, storage and utilization demonstrations.