school buses. The project aims to deploy 60 vehicles for a three-year period in school bus fleets across the nation. The vehicles will be capable of running in either electric-only or hybrid modes that can be recharged from standard electrical outlets. Because electricity will be their primary fuel, they will consume less petroleum than standard vehicles. To develop the PHEV school bus, Navistar will examine a range of hybrid architectures and evaluate advanced energy storage devices, with the goal of developing a vehicle with a range. Travel beyond the range will be facilitated by a clean diesel engine capable of running on renewable fuels. The DOE funding will cover up to half of the project's cost and will be provided over three years, subject to annual appropriations. eStar electric van The eStar was an all-electric van. Production began in March 2010 and first deliveries began two months later via its Workhorse Group division. The technology used in eStar was licensed to Navistar in 2009 in a joint venture with Modec and Navistar bought the intellectual property rights from the Modec's bankruptcy administrators in 2011. The introduction of the eStar was supported by a million U.S. Department of Energy stimulus grant under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The eStar had a payload capacity available with a 14- or 16-foot cargo box. The vehicle was powered by a 70 kW 102 hp electric motor powered by an 80kWhr lithium-ion battery pack supplied by A123 Systems, and also used regenerative braking. The electric van had a range of , and a full charge took between 6 and 8 hours. By May 2010 the eStar had received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CARB certifications. The eStar also met all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The first vans were delivered in May 2010 to FedEx Express for use in Los Angeles. Other customers included Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), The Coca-Cola Company, and Canada Post. The eStar had a price of . Navistar discontinued the eStar van in March 2013, as part of a corporate restructuring plan to focus on current profitability. Navistar Defense LLC (2003–present) In 2003, Navistar created Navistar Defense. While Navistar had manufactured vehicles for the military long into its existence as International Harvester, Navistar Defense would operate as a freestanding division within the company. Alongside the MaxxPro MRAP and the MXT-MV, Navistar Defense has developed military