Proterra Upbeat on Battery-Electric Demand Prospects
Partnerships with Fellow Volvo Subsidiaries Proliferate
Key Takeaways:
- Proterra has not carried out job cuts, even in the downturn, instead focusing on optimizing costs and efficency.
- Proterra touts the H2-23 as its most energy-dense battery pack yet.
- Volvo Group acquired Proterra Powered in November 2023 for $210 million after an auction.
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In the two years since Volvo Group bought Proterra Powered, industrywide optimism surrounding the prospects for battery-electric trucks has taken a battering, but the battery maker remains upbeat, according to a senior executive.
“There’s a lot of battery interest in different spaces,” Proterra Director of Product Management Mabel Feng told Transport Topics.
That includes at fellow Volvo Group subsidiaries Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks as well as Volvo Construction Equipment and at other original equipment manufacturers.
Proterra has not carried out job cuts, even in the downturn, Feng said, but has been optimizing costs and efficiency.
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Proterra intentionally kept the size of its factory limited, Feng said, adding: “It’s going to be ready as things pick back up.”
The company debuted an upgraded battery pack in April at the 2025 Advanced Clean Transportation conference specifically aimed at the Class 8 truck market and other demanding commercial applications.
Proterra touts the H2-23 as its most energy-dense battery pack yet, with a gravimetric density of 176 watt-hours per kilogram and volumetric density of 270 watt-hours per liter, enabling a 750 kilowatt-hour energy system for Class 8 applications and up to 2 megawatt-hours of total system energy.
The company also expects to upgrade its software in 2026, Feng said.
When Volvo Group bought Proterra Powered, the OEM said it would complement its current battery-electric business and accelerate the unit’s future.
In April — also at ACT — to launch a battery-electric version of the company’s new flagship on-highway Class 8 tractor, the Pioneer. The order book for the Proterra battery-equipped Pioneer Electric will open in 2026.
VTNA also plans to offer an electric version of its own redesigned flagship on-highway tractor, the VNL. In June 2024, the truck maker offered a first glimpse of a prototype VNL 440 Electric.
The decline in overall truck sales and adoption of battery-electric trucks over the past couple of years has, however, pushed back the timeline for an expected product launch.
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When the curtain was pulled back on the truck, VNL Electric orders were expected to kick off in the last couple of months of 2025 or at the beginning of 2026.
But told TT on the sidelines of American Trucking Associations’ 2025 Management Conference & Exhibition: “We’re not there yet. So we have the VNR Electric still, and we’re working with that. And we’re looking at the next generation: the VNL Electric. We have not decided exactly on the launch date yet.
“The speed of transformation, as we like to call it, of course, has slowed down. “We still believe, though. And you see that there is still demand for zero-emission vehicles, certainly in California, but also in other areas where transport companies have strong sustainability agendas and are executing on those.”
Construction, Bus Markets Beckon
Proterra has more than one arrow in its quiver, insisted Feng, including working with Volvo Construction Equipment and Volvo Penta.
VCE in June unveiled plans to expand North American production of crawler excavators and wheel loaders, starting in the first half of 2026, reflecting optimism about the potential of the sector.
VCE also debuted two electric models in April: the EC 230 electric excavator and L120 electric wheel loader. The division already offered three mini-excavators, two compact wheel loaders and an asphalt compactor with electric powertrains.
Volvo EC 230 electric excavator. (Volvo Construction Equipment)
Updates to Proterra’s product road map over the next one or two years will meet more of the needs of the construction sector, Feng said.
Proterra is working with other OEMs too, although Feng declined to provide updates on customer wins.
Demand for batteries from the school bus sector will rise in the coming years, she said, adding: “The school bus market is continuing to grow. The key there is to have a cost-competitive pack.”
Proterra partnered initially with Daimler Truck North America in 2018.
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DTNA’s Thomas Built Buses unit on Oct. 21 launched the Saf-T-Liner eHDX2 Wattson, the company’s first electric Type D school bus. Type D, or “transit-style” buses, are the largest in the industry. Wattson’s order book is set to open by the end of 2025, with initial deliveries scheduled for late 2026.
And in January, Thomas Built Buses released a Proterra battery-equipped second-generation Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley battery-electric school bus. The company’s flagship electric school bus originally was introduced in 2017.
Proterra’s batteries also are also part of the powertrain for the Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. MT50e last-mile delivery truck.
FCCC’s Gaffney, S.C., plant is about a 40-minute drive from Proterra’s manufacturing facility in Greer, S.C.
There have been some downs, too, over the past two years — including a major heavy-duty truck customer going bankrupt, Nikola — but that’s better than operating under court-appointed administrators, or even having to close up shop.
Then-parent company Proterra Inc. filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 7, 2023. The company said it hoped to either recapitalize its businesses or sell them off at the time.
Volvo Group acquired Proterra Powered in November 2023 for $210 million after an auction. At the time, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based OEM said 35% of the vehicles coming off its global production lines would be electric by 2030.
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