BAE Systems’ Endicott plant to handle work on power and propulsion system for transit buses

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — BAE Systems, which specializes in electric-propulsion systems, has unveiled its next-generation, full battery electric power and propulsion system for transit buses.

The newest system “positions cities around the world to get to zero transportation emissions and improve the range and efficiency” of their electric transit-bus fleets,” BAE Systems said in a Monday news release.

The firm’s plant in Endicott will handle work on the system, per a company spokesman.

Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia., BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, a global defense, security and aerospace company. Its website says the firm employs nearly 86,000 globally. That figure includes 1,300 employees in Endicott, the company spokesman tells BJNN.

The technology adds to the company’s experience “developing and integrating” electric-hybrid propulsion systems and accessories for transit buses, BAE Systems said. 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, the company says.

The series-EV system uses fewer, lighter, and more compact components to make it easy to install and reduce the need for future maintenance, BAE Systems adds. The system’s lightweight and reduced number of connections “help to make the most of its power and paves the way” for buses to travel longer distances on a single charge. As part of this design, it also allows operators to customize based on their propulsion or accessory power requirements. Larger buses would require more traction power and the addition of air conditioning on the bus would increase the accessory power needed.

BAE Systems has more than 10,000 electric-hybrid systems in service around the globe including major cities such as Paris, London, New York, and San Francisco. Its systems travel more than 330 million miles and transport nearly 2 billion people annually, the company says.

BAE’s electric-propulsion systems are “contributing to a cleaner world by saving more than 22 million gallons of fuel and eliminating 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year across the globe — the equivalent of taking 42,000 cars off the road or planting 4 million trees,” per the release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com