BAE’s electric drive systems for buses

A famed leader in electric propulsion systems, BAE Systems made its presence felt at the expo with its sophisticated and complete electric drive architecture for pure electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell buses. As a systems provider, the company offers a wide range of electric drive and control systems for both high-power applications including traction motor and inverter drive, and low-power accessories like HVAC system, air brake compressors, and so on.

Said Derek Matthews, Partnership Manager – Business Development (Power and Propulsion systems): “Rather than having multiple electrical systems to drive a variety of components which means multiple vendors and lack of integration, we have brought all those into two complete systems.”

“Our target clients are not just OEMs and electric bus makers, but also systems suppliers whose core competence is not power electronics,” he added. Recently, the London-based company unveiled its next-generation full battery electric power and propulsion system for transit buses. The Series-EV system builds on that core technology, but eliminates the need for a combustion engine to drive the bus. Instead, it uses electric motors, controls and batteries to create a clean and emission-free mode of public transportation. Derek noted that BAE Systems is already working with a number of e-bus makers in North American and Europe, including Nova Bus, New Flyer, Gillig, El Dorado, Solaris, IVECO and ADL. As for the Indian market, he said that interaction has just begun with preliminary market studies and cost analysis being carried out at the moment.