KamAZ Drive Electro Electric Bus

2022: Electric bus production in Rostov region

In October 2022, the Government of the Rostov Region, KamAZ and Sitronics Group signed an agreement on the launch of electric buses and the expansion of the charging infrastructure network for electric transport in the region.

The document was signed by the Director for Passenger Transport of PJSC KamAZ Samat Sattarov, Deputy Governor - Minister of Transport of the Rostov Region Vladimir Okunev and Vice President for Regional Development of Sitronics Group Karim Kuzakhmetov.

The government of the Rostov region, KamAZ and Sitronics Group signed an agreement on the launch of electric buses of aryad infrastructure for electric transport

According to the press service of KamAZ, electric buses will be launched in the Rostov region as part of the federal program for the development of urban electric public transport. The Rostov region has become one of the ten first regions where this project will be implemented.

It is expected that the test operation of the KAMAZ-6282 electric bus will begin at the end of October 2022. An ultra-fast charging station from the Sitronics Electro operator (part of the Sitronics Group) will be used to charge the batteries of the electric bus. Further, electric buses may appear on the streets of Taganrog and Volgodonsk.

Passenger Transport Director of KamAZ PJSC Samat Sattarov said that electric buses have been successfully operated in Moscow for five years. By mid-October 2022, 772 Kamaz-6282 models run along the capital's routes.

Шаблон:Quote 'We are glad that our high-tech product, created according to the most complex technical task of the customer, has passed the test of time and the largest metropolis of Russia, will be operated in the Rostov region, - Sattarov emphasized. Ultrafast charging stations are required for uninterrupted passenger service. With the help of Sitronics Electro equipment, the electric bus will be able to charge at the endpoints of the route or in the park in 10-20 minutes. It is enough for the driver to drive up to the station and connect with a pantograph to the charging dome without leaving the cab.^[1]

2021

Electric bus fire in Moscow

On the night of September 20-21, 2021, on the understudy of Dmitrovskoye Shosse, in the area of ​ ​ house number 157 in Moscow, an electric bus caught fire, which had been in operation for about three years. This was reported in the metropolitan Department of Transport.

As stated in the department, the electric bus was served as part of the life cycle contract, which means long-term maintenance and repair by the supplier, as well as full participation in the analysis of the causes. The preliminary cause of the fire, according to the manufacturer of the electric bus, ("KamAZ"), was the short circuit of the electrical wiring in the driver's dashboard, the human factor has not yet been ruled out.

Electric bus burned down in Moscow

The fire happened to the KamAZ-6282 model, which was released by the KamAZ Neftekamsk Automobile Plant in 2018. By September 2021, similar equipment is being assembled at the facilities of the SVARZ plant in Moscow. Traction batteries of electric bus are arranged on roof. It is this fact that seems to have avoided much more serious consequences: it is difficult to extinguish lithium batteries with conventional fire extinguishing equipment.

At the time of the fire, there were no passengers in the electric bus, it was moving towards the transport fleet. A few minutes later, firefighters were already working at the scene. While they extinguished the electric bus, the road was temporarily blocked.

By September 21, 2021, the management of Mosgortrans is conducting a thorough official investigation, the causes of the incident will be established by a special commission and a manufacturer of equipment subject to a life cycle contract. The Department of Transport said that this is the first fire of an electric bus in Moscow for the entire time of their operation.

According to KamAZ, the cost of one electric bus is 20-30 million rubles, depending on the configuration and capacity of the batteries. The electric bus seats up to 85 people and charges at the terminus. It can travel 50 km without recharging.

Launch of electric bus production in Moscow

At the end of April 2021, KamAZ launched the production of electric buses in Moscow - at the Sokolnichesky Car Repair and Construction Plant (SVARZ). The first vehicles assembled at this enterprise will take to the routes in the capital in May. Read more here.

2019: Joint work of Kamazovites and Nefazovites

In PJSC NEFAZ"," at the subsidiary KAMAZ"," a cross-functional group was created in the spring of 2019 to develop the production capacities of buses and electric buses. A team of professionals from among the managers and specialists of the auto giant began work on March 1 at the Neftekamsk Automobile Plant. Their main task is to help Bashkir colleagues build a new production stream for the manufacture of a modern line of buses and electric buses and provide the necessary technological capacities.

The joint work of Kamazovites and Nefazovites began with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the current cycle of production of buses and electric buses. Mapping of technological operations was carried out, after which measures were formed to improve the assembly processes and eliminate losses. Tactical plans have been developed for the implementation of projects in the areas of logistics, production, quality, technology.

At the start of the project, losses that do not bring value were 122 hours. By the beginning of April, losses of 52 hours were excluded due to the withdrawal of subassembly operations to a separate area, rebalancing of loaded operations on the assembly line of electric buses, refinement of drawing and design and technological documentation, reducing the defective supply of components, and excluding unnecessary movement of workers. Thanks to this, the NEFAZ team managed to reach the assembly cycle of 20 electric buses per month.

During March, a system was developed to notify about downtime in work positions due to the lack of provision of components and quality issues using the example of andon.

Now construction and installation work is underway, which will make it possible to fundamentally change the existing scheme of organization of production, taking into account the improvement of logistics processes, warehousing, etc. For example, the bus assembly shop No. 23 is being reorganized with the separation of the in-line assembly of electric buses and buses, the floors were poured, the walls and structural elements of the production building were painted. At the assembly site of bus chassis No. 27, installation work is underway to create additional workplaces and expand the logistics area for storing and supplying components. For the assembly and welding workshop No. 22, welding equipment was made for the production of wheel arches of the battery compartments and the rear module, in order to optimize the areas and strengthen control over the progress of production, the welding section of the wheel arches was moved directly to the welding coordinates of the bus frame. Paint chambers are installed and modernized in painting shop No. 26. And this is not a complete list of transformations.

"The general readiness and understanding of what we are doing gives confidence in the result," says Sergey Puchkin, Deputy Director for Press and Frame Plant Production and Head of the Cross-Functional Group for the Development of Bus and Electric Bus Production Capacities. - It is impossible to master a new product with old approaches, it is necessary to change. This is our main message. You feel that people are ready for change, want to receive new information and participate in the work. "

Today, bus manufacturing is becoming the "pilot" of the active introduction of UCS tools, the Lean Manufacturing system, which should help personnel adapt rather so that they can quickly bring a new product to the required performance without losing quality.

This project involves specialists from the technological service, the development bureau of the Production System, the quality service, production, planning, personnel management, supply - that is, the entire functionality of NEFAZ. As necessary, the working group attracts specialists in logistics, planning, IT technologies, in the field of quality, lean production from other divisions of KAMAZ.

2018: Collaboration with Cummins Corporation

On September 20, 2018, KamAZ announced that it would cooperate with Cummins Inc. in the creation of electric cars and buses. As reported, the companies signed a corresponding memorandum of understanding.

According to the company, KamAZ and Cummins have agreed to work together to create electric cars and buses. In particular, Cummins intends to develop and deliver to KamAZ prototypes of a fully electric transmission based on high-voltage electric batteries for use in the segment of city buses and medium-tonnage delivery cars.

The memorandum also provides for the development and supply of a prototype hybrid transmission for use in the KamAZ heavy truck segment. On both projects, the parties will test prototypes on city buses, delivery cars and heavy trucks manufactured by KamAZ. After testing, refinement and certification, the partners will determine the prospects for further joint cooperation in the field of electric transmissions.^[2]

2017

Mostransavto Technical Council

On September 21, 2017, the State Unitary Enterprise MO Mostransavto held a visiting technical council dedicated to the prospects for using electric transport in the Moscow region. The event was attended by the chief engineer of Mostransavto, heads of technical divisions of the company's branches, as well as representatives of manufacturing plants for road and electric transport.

As part of the business program, a new model of electric transport was presented - an electric bus of the second generation of KAMAZ-6282, developed by KAMAZ together with the Russian engineering company Drive Electro. The electric bus has a low-floor body design and seats 85 passengers, of which 24 are in ergonomic seats with seat belts.

The electric bus is equipped with 230kW lithium-titanate batteries, which are charged directly on the route from the Drive Electro ultra-fast charging station. Now, when in the conditions of test operation the power of the station is used only for a quarter, the electric bus is charged in 40 minutes, and the energy accumulated during this time is enough for the machine to overcome a distance of 38 km. At the same time, the technical characteristics of the station allow you to reduce the recharging time to 6-20 minutes, and increase the range to 70 km. The maximum speed of the vehicle is 90 km/h.

The electric bus has an air suspension with telescopic shock absorbers, pneumatic elements and the ability to tilt the body - the so-called "kniling," making the entrance more comfortable for passengers with disabilities. In addition, the electric bus presented at the technical council differs from its predecessors in a modified cabin - it lacks a shaft of the engine compartment, which made it possible to increase the total passenger capacity.

Test operation in St. Petersburg

During the test operation, which began in May 2016 at Skolkovo, then continued in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the electric bus passed over 12,000 km. After testing at St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise Passazhiravtotrans, the second-generation electric bus KAMAZ Drive Electro with more efficient lithium-titanate batteries continues test operation at St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise Gorelektrotrans in February 2017.

The KAMAZ-6282 electric bus, developed jointly with the Russian scientific and technical company Drive Electro, was tested by Passazhiravtotrans on route No. 9 in St. Petersburg. In just 55 days, the electric bus carried more than 16,000 passengers. Passengers and drivers noted the smooth travel of the electric bus, silence, rapid acceleration and lack of odors.

The length of route No. 9 in the forward direction (from the Bus Street stop to the Pl. Courage ") is 9.28 km, and in the opposite direction - 11.18 km. The average length of routes in Russian cities is approximately 15 km. At the same time, the difference between electric vehicles is that in traffic jams energy is consumed much less than in the operation of an internal combustion engine.

The uniqueness of the second generation electric buses, which include KAMAZ Drive Electro, consists in equipping lithium-titanate (LTO) batteries, which have a number of advantages over all other types of batteries that are used in Russia and partially abroad (the first generation of batteries are lithium-iron phosphate and lithium-manganese). Firstly, these are the only batteries that are successfully charged at low temperatures: according to the Hydrometeorological Center, in St. Petersburg in January 2017, when the electric bus was operating on the route, the temperature dropped to -19 degrees. Secondly, it takes only 6 minutes to charge the new generation electric bus, which is 20 times less than the average charging time of the first generation electric bus. Third, the mass of the second generation electric bus batteries is significantly lower, which provides the additional advantage of being able to carry more passengers. Fourth, the battery is designed for at least 20,000 full charge/discharge cycles, which is more than 15 years of intensive operation. Finally, these batteries are considered the safest in the world, and the warranty period for them is more than five years.

Despite the fact that the electric bus is twice as expensive, it pays off already in the middle of its life cycle due to the low cost of maintenance and operation. Its main cost is "power filling," the body is also experiencing. In addition, electric transport has a stable tendency to reduce cost with increasing production volumes. Already now, according to the estimates of specialists of the bus fleet No. 2 of St. Petersburg, an electric bus is 45 rubles per hour cheaper than a diesel one.

Notes