First published on Dive Brief: The city council of Charlotte, North Carolina, recently approved a public-private partnership between the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and Duke Energy subsidiary eTransEnergy for a pilot program testing the feasibility of battery electric bus vehicles in the city and surrounding area. The partnership — which still must be finalized between the two parties — will test 18 vehicles from three different manufacturers over 12 to 18 months and is expected to begin in early 2022. CATS will collect data and assess vehicle performance with an eye toward future deployment of more electric buses. The project is supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge. A $3.7 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will fund six of the 18 vehicles, with the rest being paid for by the CATS Capital Investment Program.