Electric truck and bus powertrain manufacturer, Motive Power Systems has opened its new headquarters at 330 Hatch Drive in Foster City, California.
The new headquarters gives the company room to grow and hire new employees, and continue to design cutting edge power electronics that allow truck and bus manufacturers to add zero-emission vehicles into their portfolio of alternative fuel options. The new headquarters triples Motiv's workspace, creating the opportunity to accommodate up to 100 employees.
Assembly member Kevin Mullin said: "Motiv's expansion is a great example of the growing innovation economy in San Mateo County. I applaud Motiv's commitment to sustainability and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
"While their clean technology provides environmental benefits wherever these vehicles are driven, the local benefit includes new jobs in San Mateo County. It's great to see local companies seeking and receiving grants from the CEC that allow them to expand their operations, benefiting local communities and all of California," .
In addition to its new headquarters, Motiv operates a manufacturing facility in Hayward, California. The facility produces the entire suite of controllers for Motiv's All-Electric Powertrain. At full capacity, it produces controllers for 480 all-electric powertrains annually, supporting the growing demand for electric trucks and buses across the U.S. Motiv's Hayward manufacturing facility was made possible thanks to $2.3m in grant funding from the California Energy Commission (CEC).
These all-electric powertrain components are used in electric vehicles by partners including Morgan Olson, California Truck and Equipment Company, Creative Bus Sales, Rockport, Trans Tech Bus, and Cumberland Servicenter.
Motiv Power Systems CEO Jim Castelaz said: "We are thrilled to open our new headquarters and support new local green jobs.
"As a young company in 2010, Motiv was awarded the first of several grants by the California Energy Commission that allowed us to develop and demonstrate our all-electric powertrain and set the foundation for our future successes here in California.
"This has led to securing private investment and being one of the fastest growing private companies in America. We are confident that our continued investment in California's future, sustainable technology, and the health of our communities is the right choice."
Motiv will be holding a grand opening ceremony at its new headquarters today, between 2:00pm - 4:00pm. The company welcomes Mayor of Foster City Herb Perez, Mayor of San Mateo Joe Goethals, Google's Transportation Operations Manager Michael Wooley-Ousdahl, AmeriPride's Fleet Services Manager Banny Allison, and representatives of the California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board.
Guests will have the ability to ride in one of the Mountain View Community Shuttles, which were partially funded by Google, and in Motiv's All-Electric E450 Cargoport, which are both powered by all-electric powertrains supported through the California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board's programs.
Motiv Marketing & Business Development director Urvi Nagrani said: "As the debate over the future of Cap-and-Trade is being considered by the Governor and the Legislature, we hope they recognize the enormous successes California's investments have already brought to the state.
"New technologies, new jobs, local manufacturing, and better air quality have all been supported by policy over the last decade. This emerging industry's remarkable successes have recently been overshadowed by funding delays which create needless hurdles and stagnation in deploying cutting edge solutions.
"We hope California invests in the programs needed to meet the ambitious targets in Governor Brown's Zero-Emission Vehicle Action Plan and Sustainable Freight Plan, ensuring we remain a global leader in sustainable solutions."
Named one of Popular Science's 2014 Best of What's New technologies, the Motiv All-Electric Powertrain has successfully been scaled from school buses for Kings Canyon Unified School District, to shuttle buses funded by Google and the CEC, and North America's only all-electric refuse truck deployed by the City of Chicago. These zero-emission trucks and buses have shown a reduction of total operating costs by up to 87 percent compared to diesel trucks.
