GreenPower is expected to begin manufacturing its BEAST school bus, seen here at STN EXPO Indianapolis, at its new West Virginia plant later this summer.
Robert Grinstead, founder and CEO of Minneso- ta-based Zeus Electric Chassis, which is powering the electric Pegasus Specialty Vehicles Type A school bus, said his batteries employ a chemistry that includes nickel, magnesium and cobalt (LMC) for safety and efficiency. “Safety is the number one priority for Zeus,” Grinstead said. “The lithium battery selected requires a high testing and compliance threshold (ISO 6469 and ISO 26262) including the battery TMS and charging configuration. This high bar significantly reduces safety concerns relative to battery function and performance that includes battery thermal control issues.” Grinstead agreed there are lithium batteries today
where lithium is only part of the total chemistry. He noted different lithium batteries have different chemistries. “Our lithium batteries are specifically engineered for the on-road vehicle that are FMVSS, ISO, [Underwriters Lab- oratories] compliant,” he said. “Additionally, the batteries and battery management system employ multi-stage safety protocols and features to greatly mitigate battery thermal events.” Grinstead said Zeus employs a battery-specific thermal management unit and system to ensure battery operating temperatures are nominal within cold and hot environments. Battery manufacturer Proterra’s flagship market has been public transit because it believed these buses would be the first to go all electric, said spokesman Shane Levy. He said Proterra’s perspective is that what works in a tran- sit vehicle will work in other commercial vehicles, such as the Thomas Built Buses Jouley ESB, because the batteries have the technology that is transferrable. “Over our five generations of battery systems, we have
continually enhanced energy density and we’ve designed our technology so that it is adaptable to a wide array of vehicle types in a market where commercial vehicle cus- tomers require complex, large energy systems,” Levy said, noting that successfully transitioning to an electric vehi- cle requires a safe, reliable and high-performing battery. The battery, he explained, consists of small format cells
40 School Transportation News • JULY 2022
that enable Proterra to design battery packs to be more resilient to cell defects and critical failures. “We manufacture our battery systems with safety mechanisms built directly into the battery architecture such as cell-level pas- sive propagation resistance,” he noted. “This means that in the rare event of a single battery cell failure, our systems are designed to isolate a localized thermal event and not spread to neighboring battery cells.” The Proterra website states that the battery used in the Thomas Jouley is certified to meet SAE J2929, which defines a minimum set of acceptable safety criteria for a lithi- um-based rechargeable battery system to be
considered for use in an electric or hybrid vehicle. Training
The next step in keeping kids safe is training staff on
all the contingencies associated with their BESBs, along with instructions for first responders on what to expect from lithium-ion battery fires. Last month, the National Transportation Safety Board
issued a report on the progress of 18 companies the agency identified as lacking in producing adequate vehicle-specific manuals and training instructions on high-voltage, lithium-ion batteries to protect emergency responders.
Emergency Response Guides for Alternative Fuel Vehicles These manuals can be found on the National Fire
Protection Association website at
stnonline.com/go/cr and are available to local emergency responders upon request.
The manuals help emergency responders deal with new terminology such as stranded energy, or power that may remain in damaged battery cells for hours before becoming runaway energy and reigniting or exploding. “We offer high voltage safety training for service
technicians and first responder training for local fire and police departments,” Navistar’s White said. “When it comes to safety during vehicle emergency situations, guidelines remain the same for an internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle: if there is a fire, get everyone off the vehicle and a safe distance away.” Alexander touted Lion’s training program as compre-
hensive and readily available. “We provide driver training as well as training specific to battery electric vehicles, including high-voltage system safety,” Alexander noted. “Lion has a network of 12 Experience Centers across North America so that we can maintain close proximity to our customers and provide training and assistance.”
PHOTO BY VINCENT RIOS CREATIVE
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