FPT Industrial’s innovations for the bus business, on display at IAA Transportation 2024

FPT Industrial (Iveco Group) is among the key players at the IAA Transportation 2024 in Hannover, scheduled until Sept. 22. For the occasion, FPT has decided to present several new products to the world of transport, all in the vein of the energy mix approach, where ICE, gas and electric coexist and complement each other.

What’s new from FPT Industrial at the IAA

FPT’s e-powertrains

FPT’s electric vocation is well known, and so here is the new eAX 200-R, the latest generation of electrified axles for commercial vehicles from 3.5 to 11 tons and minibuses. The new eAX 200-R is distinguished by the system’s higher peak efficiency (92 percent): the coaxial architecture increases power density and makes the design more compact, leaving more room for battery storage and extending the vehicle’s range. In addition, the aluminum housing helps reduce weight compared to conventional layouts, improving vehicle dynamics and efficiency and increasing overall durability.

Designed with a flexible wheel, brake and suspension interface, the axle can be customized to meet a range of customer needs. With this all-new product, FPT Industrial reaffirms its commitment to cutting-edge solutions in vehicle electrification and sets a new industry benchmark by combining superior efficiency, advanced technology and user-centric design to meet the evolving needs of light- and medium-duty commercial vehicle manufacturers and their customers.

Thus the “reinforced” eAX 375-R version for medium and heavy-duty applications, also suitable for intercity and coach applications. With features such as a bolt-on wheel end, for example, it allows the electric axle to be scalable and extremely adaptable to meet a range of propulsion requirements. Up to 30,000 Nm of torque at the wheels and a service life of up to 1.6 million km (depending on mission) ensure sustainability and offer excellent uptime performance.

Engines, axles and finally batteries. FPT also unveiled eBS 37 EVO, The 37 kWh battery pack for light commercial vehicles and minibuses; this is a modular pack that incorporates cells and modules with lithium-ion NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) technology for high energy density.
The eBS 37 EVO battery pack features some significant innovations: the eBM 5 battery management system-developed and manufactured entirely by FPT Industrial-and a new internal design that enables the battery to meet the highest safety standards, ECE R100.3.

Engines

The new Cursor H2, designed to power heavy urban and regional trucks, heavy construction vehicles, and even city and intercity buses, debuted in Hannover. It is a hydrogen engine paired with a conventional mechanical transmission, strong in maintainability similar to that of a regular ICE, to make it easy to use from day one. Compared to fuel cell solutions, the new CURSOR 9 H2 offers lower complexity, comparable total cost of ownership and higher payload, making it the ideal solution for environmental and even financial sustainability.

So the dual-fuel solution for medium-sized trucks and buses. Its name? N67 Hythane, still a prototype, is fueled by a mixture of H2 and NG to accelerate and improve the combustion process, with an estimated CO2 emission reduction of up to 50 percent compared to natural gas. Suitable for both CNG and LNG, as well as for retrofit solutions to extend the life of NG vehicles, the N67 Hythane features a dual injection system for hydrogen and natural gas, which ensures optimized fuel mixing with the integrated engine control unit based on operating conditions, for maximum CO2 reduction benefits, all with reduced noise compared to diesel.

Ended here? Nope. There’s also the XCursor 13, FPT Industrial’s first single-base multi-fuel engine, shown at IAA Transportation in three versions: one for long-haul heavy trucks, one for heavy construction vehicles, and one for coaches. The XCursors 13 offers reduced TCO along with class-leading performance and braking power (diesel up to 530 kW, natural gas up to 260 kW), thanks to the new valve train system, and significant weight reduction due to the new lighter cylinder block and cylinder head (-10% for both applications).