NIIKEU (formerly Drive Electro, Drive Electro)

Drive Electro is a private engineering company, a Russian leader in the design of electric and hybrid systems for commercial vehicles and public ground transport. Until 2014 - NIIKEU (Research Institute of Combined Power Plants). On account of the company cooperation with global automakers and results such as the first Russian electric bus and the first Russian trolleybus with a long autonomous range.

The production facilities of Drive Electro are located in the city of Khimki, Moscow Region, now, according to Sergei Ivanov, the localization level is 30%, and with the transition to mass production it can be gradually increased to 50%.

Drive Electro is known to market participants for its integration solutions for corporate and urban transport. The NefAZ-52992 electric bus (developed for Rosatom's fuel company TVEL) was the first Russian-made electric bus with a mileage of over 200 km per charge and received a vehicle safety certificate.

Electric buses, minibuses and autonomous trolleybuses developed by Drive Electro have been transporting passengers as city and corporate transport in the Russian regions for several years, and now in the Republic of Belarus. Freight electric vehicles serve production. The daily mileage of these electric vehicles is about 100km.

The development of Drive Electro is marked by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the Federal Agency for Science and Innovation, the State Duma Committee on Science and Science-Intensive Technologies, the St. Petersburg International Motor Transport Forum (PMAF), and many public and private companies in the industry.

For Russia, innovative electric transport was only a dream for a long time, because the old generation batteries did not function well at low temperatures - an expensive thermostating system was required. But after Drive Electro completed the development of new drives with a lithium-titanate battery, huge opportunities opened up for the development of electric vehicles in Russia. Compared to conventional lithium, the new battery charges quickly (in 6 minutes), is safe and can run at temperatures up to -45S. Designed for 20,000 cycles of full charge/discharge. Today it is the most advanced and secure technology in the world. The service life has also grown - an electric bus with such a drive can function up to 15 years, that is, 3 times longer than before. Thanks to this, the electric bus has become a profitable mode of transport: with a payback period of 5-7 years, the service life of the electric bus is at least 10 years.

History

2021: Construction of a plant in the SEZ "Technopolice Moscow" for the production of electric vehicles

In mid-February 2021, it became known about the construction of a plant for the production of electric buses and electric trucks in the Technopolice Moscow special economic zone (SEZ). The volume of investments in the project, which was implemented by Drive Electro, amounts to 375 million rubles.

The company plans to place on the site of the SEZ "Alabushevo" in Zelenograd on a plot of 1.2 thousand square meters. m. Here they will produce electric vehicles and components for it (for example, batteries and charging stations), as well as vehicles running on hydrogen fuel.

The site will house engineering facilities, production and office premises. It is planned to create 75 jobs.

In the SEZ "Technopolice Moscow" the construction of a plant for the production of electric trucks begins

Most of the planned investments (355 million rubles) will go to the design of the factory, its construction and equipping with the necessary equipment. The remaining 20 million rubles will be allocated for research and implementation activities.

Gennady Degtev, General Director of the Technopolis Moscow SEZ, noted that in the future Drive Electro intends to occupy more than 50% of the domestic market for electric vehicles and components for it.

Future production meets the needs of the growing electric transport industry, it is focused on import substitution and providing the industry with domestic components. In addition, the development of Drive Electro will make a significant contribution to improving the ecology of the city, he said.

Drive Electro received the status of a resident of the SEZ "Technopolice Moscow," which, according to the press service of the capital's complex of economic policy and property and land relations, allows companies to implement investment projects as efficiently as possible, freeing up resources through savings with the help of tax incentives for property, land and transport.^[1]

2017

Logo for 2017

Collaboration with Toshiba

In September 2017, the Russian engineering company Drive Electro and the Japanese corporation Toshiba reached an agreement on a warranty period for lithium-titanate batteries for electric public transport developed and manufactured by Drive Electro using Toshiba Electronics battery cells in accordance with the technical assignment for the city of Moscow.

Drive Electro batteries are designed for ultra-fast recharging within 6-20 minutes, which is 20 times less than the average charging time of the first generation of lithium-ion batteries. Thanks to the technological features of Toshiba battery cells, fast recharging does not lead to degradation of battery material and can be carried out at temperatures up to - 40 ° C without additional heating systems.

• A trolleybus with autonomous production of BELKOMMUNMASH based on the 321st model begins operation in Grodno, Republic of Belarus.

2011-2016

• 2011 Three electric vehicles assembled and certified for Rosatom.
• 2014 Tula becomes the first Russian city to purchase 13 trolleybuses with a large autonomous range on new generation batteries - lithium-titanate. In parallel with KAMAZ, Drive Electro is developing the first main hybrid tractor on the same batteries. A starting batch of 8 cars was released.
• 2015 Drive Electro creates and certifies together with KAMAZ two second-generation electric buses on lithium-titanate batteries: especially small class and large class.
• 2016 Electric buses developed by the company are successfully tested in Moscow, Moscow Region (Skolkovo) and St. Petersburg. Citizens ride electric bikes developed by Drive Electro, and the company is developing a hybrid truck for utilities - eco-friendly, economical and silent - and an ultra-fast charging station.

1999-2010

• 1999 A company of like-minded people is gathering, engaged in the scientific development of electric vehicles and hybrids.
• 2007 The team moves from scientific to commercial developments. The first lithium-ion traction battery appears in Russia.
• 2009 GAZ Group is creating a GAZelle Electro truck - the first commercial electric vehicle with a lithium-ion battery is emerging in Russia.
• 2010 The first Russian trolleybus with a large autonomous range (30 km) is being developed for Novosibirsk.

Notes