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    1. e-Mobility

    Central Ohio Transit upping NFI Battery-Electric Fleet to 22 buses

    Jan. 19, 2023
    The order from Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) also includes 20 HVC-C 150-kW plug-in chargers from ABB, 40 dispensers, and project coordination and commissioning by NFI Infrastructure Solutions
    Image credit NFI
    Nfi Buses 63c957133cc80

    The mass transit system serving Ohio’s capital city has ordered 14 battery-electric Xcelsior Charge NG buses from New Flyer of America (NFI).

    The order from Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) also includes 20 HVC-C 150-kW plug-in chargers from ABB, 40 dispensers, and project coordination and commissioning by NFI Infrastructure Solutions. COTA is the mass transit system serving the Columbus region and provides more than 19 million passenger trips annually, according to the authority.

    The order, which is supported by Federal Transit Administration funds, follows COTA’s previous purchase of eight battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG buses in May 2022. The new 40-foot buses will support the transit agency’s aim to have a 100-percent zero-emission bus fleet by 2035 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.

    “For over 20 years, COTA has relied on NFI’s efficient and safe mobility solutions. NFI has delivered over 186 transit buses to COTA since 2001. With this latest order of high-performance electric buses and infrastructure, we continue to enable COTA's safe and successful transition to a net zero carbon future,” said Chris Stoddart, President, North American Bus and Coach, NFI.

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    The Xcelsior CHARGE NG bus, launched in 2021, features high-energy batteries that increase range by up to 13-percent, advanced battery packaging for easy installation and maintenance, and a lightweight electric drive system with up to 90-percent energy recovery rate.

    “Each Xcelsior CHARGE NG will avoid up to 135 metric tons of greenhouse gas per year compared to a traditional diesel bus, delivering substantial clean air benefits to Columbus communities. Together with COTA, we are building more sustainable communities in Ohio,” Stoddart added.

    NFI Infrastructure Solutions supports New Flyer’s zero-emission deployments by providing safe and reliable infrastructure services for smart and sustainable mobility projects. So far, it has installed over 330 EV chargers.

    New Flyer supports over 35,000 heavy-duty transit buses currently in service, of which 8,600 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,900 are zero-emission.

    NFI Group is a provider of zero-emission mobility solutions, with electric vehicles operating or on order in more than 120 cities in six countries. 

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.