Paris, May 22, 2023 – 5:45 pm CEST – Forsee Power (FR0014005SB3 – FORSE), the expert in smart battery systems for sustainable electromobility and MTB Transit Solutions, one of North America’s leading repairs, refurbishment and repower specialists for buses, announce their partnership for the retrofit of buses in North America. Forsee Power will supply battery systems to MTB to convert diesel buses into electric vehicles.
The first retrofit project in Canada was launched last month by the Town of Milton that announced their electric bus program appointing MTB to convert part of the fleet.
MTB leverages extensive knowledge of vehicle structure to convert diesel buses into electric buses
All buses require refurbishment at mid-life (8-10 years) due to corrosion and normal structural wear and tear. The teardown reveals which parts need repairing and which parts need replacing. A leader in the repair and refurb of buses in North America, MTB has developed an extensive knowledge of almost every bus model on the road in North America.
Based on this unique experience MTB created ZEV Clean Power, an initiative to convert diesel buses into electric buses. This initiative was created because MTB understands the importance of having environmentally sustainable transportation options to meet the net zero global roadmap and observe how the development time of new electric buses is limiting the conversion rate within transit authorities.
Retrofitting is now a credible alternative to the purchase of new vehicles to accelerate the energy transition of vehicle fleets. Indeed, it allows to extend the life of the vehicles, accelerate fleet conversion to meet emission reduction targets with much less upfront investment. A retrofit program is approximately less than half the cost of buying a new electric bus.
“The transit industry around the world is starting to shift from diesel propulsion to cleaner sources of energy. We are thrilled to work with Forsee Power and the Town of Milton on this Canadian first, and to demonstrate how transit systems can reduce their greenhouse gases” explains Gara Hay, President, MTB Transit Solutions.
Forsee Power, an international leader in battery systems for electric buses, is taking strong position in the retrofit market
The battery system is the main element of the retrofit kit. Forsee Power has already equipped more than 2,000 electric buses around the world and has a very complete range of batteries to enable overnight charging, fast charging or even hydrogen / fuel cell-powered solutions. With complementary and ultra-modular formats, Forsee Power has all the technical solutions to transform diesel or gas vehicles into 100% battery or hydrogen electric vehicles.
“We are very excited to partner with MTB for their retrofit projects in North America. Forsee Power is working on numerous retrofit developments for buses, trucks, and other industrial vehicles around the world and we can bring both our expertise on the bus market and on retrofit to MTB. We look forward to contributing to more zero-emission fleet conversion in Canada and the USA working together with MTB.” explains Jay Deis, VP North America at Forsee Power. “MTB has excellent knowledge of vehicles’ structure, which is key in the battery system integration. Our ZEN SLIM battery system – which has proven to be an excellent product for converting diesel vehicles into electric – is the optimal choice for such a project” adds John Cavlovic at Forsee Power North America.
MTB selected FORSEE ZEN 16 SLIM, an ultra-thin battery system –the world’s thinnest at launch – 135mm-high only that can fit in very limited space. The battery pack, each 16 kWh, offers excellent energy density and very high cycle life for a great total cost of ownership.
The battery systems will integrate with a 2017 Nova Bus LFS, a widely used transit bus in North America.