Iveco & Forsee extend electric bus partnership

French battery manufacturer Forsee Power has extended the partnership it has had with Iveco France since 2013. Forsee Power will supply its new generation of battery pack type ZEN 42 for Iveco electric buses.

These are said to have up to 20 per cent higher energy density than the previous ZEN 35 battery generation. According to Forsee, this enables Iveco to now offer its customers up to 300 kilometres of range with the Heuliez GX 337 ELEC with a maximum 460 kWh battery capacity – or alternatively space for up to five additional passengers with the same range as with the previous ZEN 35 battery generation.

The cells for the new ZEN-42 pack are supplied by the Korean manufacturer LG Energy Solution. It is an NMC pouch cell with “very high energy density”. This is designed to meet the requirements of commercial vehicles and industrial applications, which is “more intensive and demanding” than batteries for electric cars. The energy density or capacity of the cells is not precisely quantified in the press release.

According to Forsee, the energy density of the entire ZEN-42 pack is 147 Wh/kg. One pack has an energy content of the eponymous 42 kWh, and several packs can be combined modularly to form a battery system for an electric bus. According to Forsee, integration on the roof or in the rear of the bus is possible.

Forsee assembles its battery systems at its plant in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou in France. The site is only about 100 kilometres from Rorthais, where Iveco France builds its electric buses. The OEM has already put more than 600 electric buses on European roads with its Iveco Bus and Heuliez brands, together with Forsee Power.

businesswire.com (Iveco), forseepower.com (LGES)