Adura Systems (Menlo Park, Calif.) said Monday (April 20) its electric drive train is based on its Modular, Electronic, Scalable Architecture, or MESA. "We've chopped up the problem into modules," said Adura CEO Marv Bush. "This is the next electric drive train."

The company is claiming the industry's first scalable energy storage system that can be installed in the field and configured depending on transportation requirements to extend electric power up to 100 miles before kicking into hybrid mode.

The architecture combines an intelligent battery pack with a microturbine generator that weighs less than 500 pounds to extend vehicle range. Adura also claims its MESA approach can reduce emissions and operating costs for buses and large utility vehicles by 50 percent compared to standard diesel engines.

The architecture includes: a systems control unit to manage the entire power train; an intelligent battery pack; a system interface; a 60-kW microturbine generator; and an electric motor for propulsion and regenerative breaking.

The motor connects directly to the drive shaft, eliminating the need for a transmission, Adura said.

"While our product can scale to many types of [autos], we are first pursuing heavy-duty buses and large utility vehicles as there is a great demand from municipalities" for fuel efficient, low emission engines, Bush said.

The system has also been designed so that it can be retrofitted in existing mass-transit fleets, Bush said.

Inital deployment is scheduled for later this year in Guangzhou, China, where officials with the China Automotive Technology and Research Center plan to test the system, Bush said. The company completed an agreement with the agency officials in May 2008.

Adura said it is negotiating contracts with U.S. users, but would not identify them.