Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) has agreed to purchase five 35-foot Proterra Catalyst® E2 electric buses and five 125 kW Proterra® plug-in charging systems. As one of the busiest airports in the nation, CLT serves approximately 46 million passengers each year. CLT becomes the ninth airport to purchase Proterra electric buses for ground transportation and joins a growing list of major airports across the U.S. that are electrifying their fleets.
“At CLT, we are dedicated to implementing sustainable practices that are cost effective and that create a better experience for our employees and visitors,” said CLT’s COO Jack Christine. “CLT has the goal of fully transitioning its fleet to zero-emission vehicles, which brings both economic and environmental benefits to the airport and Charlotte community,” Christine added.
Proterra battery-electric buses will contribute to CLT’s sustainability goals. Proterra Catalyst vehicles have no tailpipe emissions and decrease dependency on fossil fuels. Emissions are reduced by 230,000 pounds of CO2 annually each time a diesel vehicle is replaced by a Proterra electric bus.
In addition to the five electric buses, CLT is also installing five Proterra plug-in chargers. Proterra charging systems utilize the universal J1772-CCS Type 1 charging standard, enabling buses, utility vehicles and cars to share the same chargers. By planning for scale now, CLT can utilize the charging infrastructure for a range of battery-electric powered service vehicles in the future.
CLT is the first airport to leverage the Georgia State Contract to purchase Proterra electric buses. The state of Georgia underwent a testing and review process and selected Proterra as a statewide vendor for electric buses, and allows other states to leverage the state contract to simplify the process of purchasing electric buses. CLT’s Proterra buses will be manufactured locally in Greenville, S.C.
Airports across the country are transitioning their ground transportation vehicle fleets to zero-emission buses, and CLT joins a growing list of airports across the nation that are leading this trend, including San Francisco International Airport (SFO), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Silicon Valley’s Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport (SJC), Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), and Honolulu International Airport (HNL).
“Airports are an ideal use case for electric vehicle technology because of their predictable circulator routes and potential for shared charging infrastructure with other service vehicles in the fleet,” said Proterra CEO Ryan Popple. “It’s exciting to see airports from coast to coast, like CLT, make the commitment to transition 100 percent of their fleets to clean, quiet zero-emission buses.”
