Proterra, a manufacturer of heavy-duty electric transportation, recently announced the opening of a new battery production line co-located in its EV bus manufacturing facility in Los Angeles County. The new battery production line will manufacture Proterra’s battery packs featuring new, next generation cells, and will create dozens of new jobs in Los Angeles County, including more than two dozen positions represented by the United Steelworkers Local 675.
The facility will expand Proterra’s battery production capacity to meet growing demand for the company’s industry-leading battery systems in Proterra Powered commercial vehicles and Proterra’s transit buses.
The co-located battery line is designed to optimize space and demonstrates Proterra’s ability to bring state-of-the-art battery production directly to commercial vehicle OEMs.
“Today, Proterra furthers our commitment to the City of Industry and Los Angeles County as we bring more advanced manufacturing jobs to California,” said Proterra CEO Jack Allen.
“Proterra’s industry-leading battery technology has been proven in 16 million miles driven by our fleet of buses. Now, with the opening of our new battery production line, we’re excited to build on this progress as we deliver Proterra Powered technology solutions to vehicle manufacturers around the world,” he said. “Thank you to the California Energy Commission and our local partners to support the growth and advancement of Proterra’s City of Industry facility.”
State collaboration underway
The California Energy Commissioner, Patty Monahan, said the commission is proud to partner with innovative companies like Proterra to expand advanced transportation manufacturing in our state.
“Today’s announcement is yet another demonstration of how California is the center for innovation in electric vehicle technology,” she said.
The batteries manufactured at the City of Industry facility will feature Proterra’s redesigned modules with next-generation cells developed with LG Energy Solutions. The new battery packs will improve on Proterra’s industry-leading energy systems with greater energy storage capacity and higher power density to enable increased range and faster charge times.
Since 2016, Proterra and LG engineering teams have been collaborating to maximize cell performance to meet the stringent requirements of commercial vehicle markets.
Proterra’s new battery-electric transit vehicle, the Proterra ZX5, can now be equipped with 675 kWh of energy, the most energy storage of any 40-foot electric bus available in the market today.
Proterra’s technology advancements enable efficient production in a small footprint and Proterra’s transit bus business benefits from co-location of battery production in its Los Angeles facility.
The new battery production line was established within a year and showcases the company’s ability to design and deploy its modular and capital efficient manufacturing process for optimal EV vehicle manufacturing.
Electric vehicles primed for industry explosion
In addition to its transit business, Proterra provides its road-tested and proven electric vehicle technology and expertise to other heavy- and medium-duty commercial vehicle manufacturers through the company’s Proterra Powered program.
Proterra battery systems have been chosen by world-class OEMs to introduce 100% battery-electric vehicles, including delivery vans, electric school buses, coach buses, and low-floor cutaway shuttle buses. To date, Proterra Powered has helped world-class OEMs like Thomas Built Buses, Van Hool, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC), Bustech, and Optimal-EV introduce 100% battery-electric vehicles that are powered by Proterra electric vehicle technology.
