The innovative Voith Electrical Drive System: the next stage in the development of electric transport

• The plug-and-play Voith Electrical Drive System (VEDS) can easily be integrated into buses from any manufacturer.
• The DIWA.6 automatic transmission with Stop-Start technology allows for a 10-12 per cent reduction in fuel consumption.
• Voith Turbo in Kazan manufactures DIWA automatic transmissions and provides after-sales maintenance.
• Voith’s sustainability development has been awarded Gold status.

MOSCOW. On September 2–7, at the COMTRANS exhibition, stand 233, the German company Voith will be presenting its award-winning technolo-gies for the commercial vehicle industry. The exhibition is being held in Moscow, at the Crocus Expo Exhibition Center.

Voith Electrical Drive System (VEDS). To reduce the number of air pollu-tants released into the atmosphere and the level of urban noise, transport companies have started upgrading their fleets (using ICE electric drives). Voith is focused on developing customized plug-and-play solutions, i.e., technologies with optimized, plug-and-play interfaces that can easily be integrated into practically any bus.

This innovative drive system for long-distance transportation is both light and low on energy consumption. It is even compatible with articulated bus-es and suitable for demanding topographic conditions. Moreover, all of the components are water-cooled and extremely quiet.

The VEDS allows for perfect coordination of all system components:

• The Drive Management Unit (DMU) is a smart energy management sys-tem. The DMU has a single central interface where all VEDS components come together to allow quick and simple system diagnosis.
• The Plug & Play Roof Rack accommodates all electrical cabling for the VEDS and auxiliary users. Due to the modular structure, individual compo-nents can be replaced quickly and at minimal effort.
• The water-cooled, permanent magnet electric motor ensures a high pow-er-to-weight ratio even at low rpm. Maximum torque is 3100 Nm, while maximum power is 340 kW. Therefore, the motor can also be used in heavy articulated buses and double-decker buses with a capacity of up to 29 tons.

The VEDS electrical drive system also includes a highly efficient water-cooled traction inverter.

DIWA.6 automatic transmission with Stop-Start technology.
The DIWA.6 automatic transmission from Voith offers reliability and effi-ciency for the city and intercity bus market. Its unique first DIWA gear al-lows for smooth motion without switching speeds, compared with other transmissions that require 2 or 3 shifts. This makes it possible to reduce wear on the entire transmission, which improves the total cost of ownership (TCO).

The DIWA.6 automatic transmission offers the potential for fuel savings due to the Stop-Start function, which makes it possible to stop the motor for up to 180 seconds without having any effect on start-up readiness. Depending on the mode of operation of the bus, this can lower fuel consumption by 10–12 per cent. Therefore, this both reduces the level of CO2 and NOx emissions and limits noise pollution of the environment. Over 1500 buses have already been fitted with DIWA.6 Stop-Start technology which can prove its superiority and reliability in daily operation.

Voith Turbo in Russia. Voith’s Russian affiliate in Kazan, OOO Voith Tur-bo, has been providing technological solutions and servicing commercial vehicles equipped with parts and machinery from Voith for over 20 years now. One of the core areas of Voith Turbo is the manufacture and imple-mentation of DIWA hydromechanical transmissions (HMT) for city and commuter buses. The company also performs guarantee and after-sales service for HMTs and other Voith products: maintenance, diagnostics and repair, implementation of original spare parts, training of specialists. Voith Turbo’s offices in Moscow, Novokuznetsk, Irkutsk, and Novosibirsk serve customers in Russia and the CIS states.

Gold status for sustainability. EcoVadis is an independent assessment company which issues corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings for companies based on 21 indicators across four main areas, namely Envi-ronment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. These indicators or criteria are based on international CSR standards.

Based on the results of the CSR assessment in 2018, EcoVadis awarded Voith Gold status. Voith thus entered the top 5% of companies of the 60,000 businesses assessed.

The Gold status given by EcoVadis is of considerable importance in the present competitive environment as an increasing number of companies, including Voith’s partners and clients, want to have supply chains that are as sustainable as possible and reduce delivery risks to the greatest extent possible.

About the Voith Group

The Voith Group is a global technology company. With its broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications, Voith sets standards in the markets of energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transport & au-tomotive. Founded in 1867, the company today has more than 19,000 em-ployees, sales of € 4.2 billion and locations in over 60 countries worldwide and is thus one of the larger family-owned companies in Europe.

The Group Division Voith Turbo is part of the Voith Group and a specialist for intelligent drive technology, systems as well as tailor-made services. With its innovative and smart products, Voith offers the highest efficiency and reliability. Customers from highly diverse industries such as oil and gas, energy, mining and mechanical engineering, ship technology, rail and commercial vehicles rely on the advanced technologies and digital applica-tions of Voith.