Enova Systems (Torrance, CA) announced that it has been awarded a contract to develop electric trams for airports, parks and other high-capacity transit applications. Enova has teamed up on the project with APS Systems (Oxnard, CA), a manufacturer of electric and hybrid-electric shuttle buses and trams.
The new vehicle combines the Panther electric propulsion and energy management systems built by Enova Systems with the lightweight composite vehicle body and chassis built by APS. The all-electric, low-floor tram includes a passenger power car and two passenger trailers, and is capable of moving up to 100 people.The system features an optional dc/dc converter featuring 200A 12Vdc or 100A 24Vdc. The optional 6.6kW charger features 110 to 240Vac at 50 to 60Hz.The first airport tram is scheduled for delivery to Hawaii in January 2001 under a program managed by the Hawaii Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project."We are excited about the pairing of Enova Systems and APS Systems, as we see this as an opportunity to develop an advanced electric-drive passenger transportation system in a relatively short period of time," said Tom Quinn, director of the Hawaii Electric Vehicle Demonstration project. "Our plan is to demonstrate this technology at the Honolulu International Airport, with the goal of replacing the existing ICE fleet with a fleet of modern, low-floor, air-conditioned, zero-emission vehicles."Enova's propulsion systems and components are used in OEM vehicles from Hyundai Motor Company (Korea) and will be part of Ford Motor Co.'s (Dearborn, MI) TH!NK city vehicle through their relationship with Ecostar Electric Drive (Dearborn, MI) systems.
