Lightning Hybrids, which builds fuel-saving hybrid technology for trucks and buses, is on a roll.
The Loveland company was issued a patent in January for its hybrid hydraulic system. On Thursday, it received its largest order ever: a fleet of 35 Elkhart Coach buses. The company expects a similar-size deal to close shortly.
“We have about 15 on the road worldwide, and we plan to have 100 by the end of the year, if not more,” said Bonnie Trowbridge, Lightning Hybrids’ vice president of communications
After a year-long pilot program, Kiessling Transit in Massachusetts ordered the hybrid fleet because it saw a 30 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.
Lightning Hybrids’ technology is similar to that found in a Toyota Prius, said Trowbridge, who was attending the 2015 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis. It uses hydraulic pumps to generate energy when the vehicle brakes. Energy is then stored until the bus or truck needs it.
The hybrid system can be retrofitted by bolting it into vehicles. For Kiessling, Lightning Hybrids is adding its system to new 2015 and 2016 model year Ford E-450 chassis and Elkhart Coach bodies.
According to Navigant Research, a market research firm, there are a mere 16,000 electric-drive or electric-assisted commercial vehicles today. That is expected to grow tenfold to 160,000 by 2023.
Lightning Hybrids launched in 2008 with a sports car built for the Automotive X Prize. But it switched to buses and trucks a year later because of the market potential. With a patent awarded in January, the company has big plans for the year.
“We have another follow-on order of similar size coming very quickly after (Kiessling),” Trowbridge added.
The company, which has raised $12 million in venture funding, employs 40 people, up from 15 at the start of last year.
