First Student, North America’s biggest provider of student transportation services, has chosen Bechtel to support its industry-leading electrification efforts.
Bechtel will begin designing and building charge stations for one of First Student’s electrification projects in the United States right now. In the future, the two businesses plan to collaborate on more electric car deployments, with Bechtel providing engineering, procurement, and construction services.
“Bechtel provides electric vehicle charging infrastructure to fleet customers so they can focus on their core business, whether it is safely moving students or delivering packages,” said Catherine Hunt Ryan, president of Manufacturing & Technology. “Vehicle fleet operators are instrumental in the electric vehicle transition. Bechtel will help First Student advance their electrification goals by being a one-stop partner through design and build.”
According to First Student, electric school buses are more efficient and require less maintenance, in addition to environmental benefits.
“First Student is leading the way in school bus electrification, and we look forward to working with Bechtel to drive more change,” said Kevin L. Matthews, First Student Head of Electrification. “Thousands of our students are already benefiting from riding emissions-free school buses as part of our commitment to create a safer, cleaner, and quieter ride to school. First Student is on track to convert 30,000 of our buses to electric by 2035, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and positively impacting the health and well-being of the communities we serve.”
In the electrification sector, Bechtel offers a variety of services such as feasibility studies, site selection, front-end engineering design, procurement services, construction management, and project management.
“Bechtel offers predictable project outcomes across the electric vehicle value chain,” said Justin Britt, Bechtel’s general manager for Electric Vehicles. “Building a future of vehicle electrification means investing in infrastructure today in everything from raw material extraction, processing plants, battery component manufacturing, final assembly, charging stations, and recycling.”
Electrifying transportation systems, expanding renewables, transitioning from coal to gas, improving energy efficiencies, decarbonizing existing infrastructure, deploying zero-emission nuclear energy, switching to zero-emission hydrogen fuel, and developing energy storage solutions are all part of Bechtel’s sustainability portfolio.
