BAE Systems, which among its many capabilities is a leader in electric propulsion, and the global power management company
Eaton, are expanding their collaboration to include electric vehicle (EV) solutions for heavy-duty trucks, with the aim of offering original equipment manufacturers and commercial vehicle modifiers ‘a comprehensive, efficient, advanced, and flexible EV system for a wide range of zero-emission platforms’.
In 2023, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to provide electric drive technology solutions for the medium-duty truck market. The expanded collaboration now includes heavy-duty applications, offering manufacturers a complete line of electric drive systems for commercial trucks above 19 tonnes.
BAE Systems will now combine its electric motor and suite of power-dense, advanced power electronics with Eaton’s HD four-speed EV transmission, to provide a full heavy-duty EV system. Along with the existing MD-4 solution, the integrated systems are designed for medium- and heavy-duty applications, including pick-up and delivery trucks, school and transit buses, as well as materials handling, refuse, and regional haul trucks.
The companies say the BAE Systems and Eaton solution ‘delivers proven technology in an integrated package that meets the demands of the commercial truck market, backed by decades of collective experience in vehicle electrification’. BAE Systems says it electric drive technology builds on more than 25 years of innovation that powers low- and zero-emission platforms on land and sea, including battery electric, fuel cell, and hybrid EVs.
The company has more than 16,000 propulsion systems operating in transit buses, boats, military vehicles and industrial vehicles across the globe ‘with over five billion miles of proven performance. Its electric propulsion technology is developed, manufactured, and serviced at its facilities in Endicott (New York), Rochester (UK), and Guaymas (Mexico).