Proterra, a company that produces heavy-duty
electric vehicles, has announced it has set a world record for driving the
longest distance ever travelled by an electric vehicle on a single charge. Its
40-foot Catalyst E2 max managed to travel 1772.2 km on a single charge at the
Navistar Proving Grounds in New Carlisle, Indiana.
This isn’t the first time Proterra demonstrated the
range and performance of its electric powertrain and battery systems. Last
September, Proterra drove 970 km with 440 kWh of energy storage, and in 2015,
Proterra drove 415 km with 257 kWh of energy storage on a single charge. The
vehicle used in its latest attempt features a 660 kWh battery.
“For our heavy-duty electric bus to break the
previous world record of 1,013.76 miles (about 1631.5 km) – which was set by a
light-duty passenger EV 46 times lighter than the Catalyst E2 max — is a major
feat,” said Matt Horton, chief commercial officer at Proterra.
The Catalyst bus is available in 35- and 40-foot
lengths, each with three main electric configurations – FC, XR and E2 – with
energy capacities ranging from 79-660 kWh. According to the company, their
vehicles cost much less to maintain than conventional vehicles with internal
combustion engines.
