Draft:SEA Electric

SEA Electric is a manufacturer of all-electric driveline systems for commercial vehicles, with technology that has been adapted to a wide range of applications, including trucks, buses and light commercial vehicles.

SEA Electric was founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 2012 by Tony Fairweather, and it released its first commercial products in 2017.

The company has subsequently shifted its headquarters to Los Angeles, USA.

To date, SEA Electric has electrified vehicles from a range of manufacturers, including Hino, Toyota, Isuzu, Dennis Eagle, Iveco, Ford and Mercedes Benz.

SEA-Drive power-system
SEA Electric’s battery-electric drive system is known as SEA-Drive, and is marketed in various combinations for different applications.

The system has been installed as both a retrofit option on existing internal combustion engine-powered vehicles, as well as in new vehicles.

Like other EV systems, SEA-Drive utilizes regenerative braking and is being developed to be Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) ready.

Applications
The technology has been implemented in garbage/refuse rear and side loading trucks, dry freight, curtain side trucks, refrigerated trucks, tippers, elevated work platforms, tilt trays, step vans, and commuter shuttles, as well as school buses.

Project Z Hino
In October 2020, Hino in the USA announced Project Z, the development of a range of zero-emissions vehicles.

SEA Electric was named as a partner in the project, with the electrification of the Class 5 Hino M5 platform.

Toyota Innova
It was reported that SEA Electric signed with Toyota Indonesia in December 2020 to design and build a Toyota Innova EV prototype.

USA School Bus
The company is also involved in the North American school bus market and retrofitting existing buses with electric drivelines.

The largest announced commitment to date has come from a December 2021 partnership with Midwest Transit Equipment for 10,000 systems for Type A and C school buses, to be supplied over five years.

Australian Truck Production
In March 2021, SEA Electric announced the commencement of volume production of new trucks from its facility in Dandenong, Victoria.

Two core lines are being produced, the SEA 300 EV and the SEA 500 EV, based on the respective Hino 300 and 500 Series donor platform, covering a range from 4.5t car license models through to 22.5t three axle rigid configurations.

Prior to this, the Australian operation had focused on retrofitting electric drivelines to previous internal combustion engine powered vehicles.

The first production version of the SEA 300-85 EV was delivered to Western Australian mining company Mineral Resources (MRL) in October 2021.

Tony Fairweather
USA-based Tony Fairweather is the President and Founder of SEA Electric.

According to Big Rigs magazine, Fairweather had observed UK company Smith Electric teetering towards administration with what he felt was a deeply flawed model.

He started formalizing his ideas, and after five years of planning, design, and development the first SEA Electric truck was released in Australia in 2017.

Awards
In November 2021, SEA Electric claimed the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) Product Innovation Award for producing Australia’s first range of all-electric trucks, the company’s SEA 300 EV and 500 EV models.

In the same month, the company’s SEA M5 EV was recognized with Green Car Journal’s 2022 Green Car Product of Excellence™ award.