Motiv Power Systems, the electric truck leader and top supplier of control systems to the growing electric truck market, is proud to announce that its electric Powertrain Control System (ePCS) has been awarded a 2014 Best of What鈥檚 New Award in Green Technology from Popular Science. This award comes after a big year for Motiv, including deliveries of North America鈥檚 first and only all-electric garbage truck to the City of Chicago and the first production model all-electric school bus in the US. Motiv is backed by Magness Ventures and has received grant funding from the California Air Resources Board. 鈥淔or 27 years, Popular Science has honored the innovations that surprise and amaze us 鈥� those that make a positive impact on our world today and challenge our view of what鈥檚 possible in the future,鈥� said Cliff Ransom, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. 鈥淭he Best of What鈥檚 New Award is the magazine鈥檚 top honor, and the 100 winners 鈥� chosen from among thousands of entrants 鈥� each a revolution in its field.鈥�
The basis for Motiv鈥檚 win is the ePCS, a single platform that can electrify any truck or bus chassis with a variety of commercially-available battery packs and motors that are upgradable over time. The ePCS is installed instead of an engine and transmission on new incomplete chassis such as the Ford E450, as a ship-through modification. 聽This process, common in the truck industry, is similar to a Compressed Natural Gas ship-through modification and means minimal changes between the fossil fuel and electric versions of the final vehicle. Existing truck and bus builders who already use these incomplete chassis can build and sell electric versions of their existing truck and bus models. Motiv currently partners with Trans Tech Bus to provide the electric version of its Class-A school buses, Ameritrans Bus to provide an electric commercial shuttle bus and Cumberland Servicecenter to provide the 30-ton electric refuse trucks to the City of Chicago. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to see our technology recognized with such a prestigious award,鈥� said Motiv Founder and CEO Jim Castelaz. 鈥淏oth the challenge of electrifying the trucking industry and the market opportunities are quite large. 聽We鈥檝e accomplished some impressive milestones this year in our goal to help fleets reduce their emissions. This award affirms that we are on the right track.鈥�
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