Officials from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) and Allison Transmission joined together yesterday to dedicate a new hybrid propulsion system plant in Indianapolis. The plant, which was fast-tracked with the help of a $62.8 million matching grant from DOE under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will eventually be capable of producing 20,000 commercial-duty hybrid propulsion systems a year.
It will employ 100 manufacturing workers, Allison said.
“Allison Transmission and the Dept. of Energy have worked together for many years in programs which have pushed transportation technology and resulted in the production of real products which benefit us all,” said Allison chairman & CEO Lawrence E. Dewey. “Over $130 million is being invested in the renovation of this facility and the development of our new commercial hybrid truck product. We will deliver a new generation of hybrid propulsion solutions to the transportation industry.”
The hybrid system captures kinetic energy from a vehicle’s brakes and stores it for use later to help accelerate the vehicle. The energy can also be used to power vehicle accessories. Allison said the first products from the plant should be on the market in 2013.
Allison already builds a hybrid propulsion system for transit buses, with more than 3,000 using the system worldwide.
