Voith and Orten Electric-Trucks sign an alliance to provide electrification solution for existing buses and trucks
Electrification, through retrofit, of existing buses and trucks. It’s the mission shared by Voith Group and the e-truck manufacturer Orten Electric-Trucks: the two companies are partnering in order to provide easy and cost-efficient retrofit solutions for commercial vehicles. The opportunity will be available for solo, double-decker and articulated buses as well as light and medium duty […]
Electrification, through retrofit, of existing buses and trucks. It’s the mission shared by Voith Group and the e-truck manufacturer Orten Electric-Trucks: the two companies are partnering in order to provide easy and cost-efficient retrofit solutions for commercial vehicles. The opportunity will be available for solo, double-decker and articulated buses as well as light and medium duty trucks. The ‘core’ of the system will be the electric drivetrain Voith Electrical Drive System (VEDS), already piloted on a Solaris Urbino Electric. Orten will handle the vehicle integration.
Voith – Orten Electric-Trucks, a retrofit kit based on VEDS
Specially developed for the requirements of public transport, the Voith Electrical Drive System consists of an energy-efficient 340 kW electric IPMS-motor to power even double-decker, heavy articulated buses as well as trucks over significant distances. A water-cooled drive inverter system ensures very high power density, while the intelligent drive management unit (DMU) controls all the components and the system’s recuperation. In addition, the VEDS includes auxiliary inverters and a high-voltage power distribution box. All components are perfectly matched to achieve the highest efficiency possible.
The electric driveline is provided by Voith, while Orten will handle the vehicle integration. Indeed, Since 2015 Orten Electric-Trucks Bernkastel-Kues and Wittlich has been converting with its partner EFAS Elektro-Fahrzeuge Stuttgart commercial vehicles of all weight classes from diesel to 100 percent E-drive. Since 2017 approximately 100 commercial vehicles have been electrified annually in a new production facility at the Wittlich location.
Customers can choose to have the VEDS retrofit-kit installed at their own site or have the vehicle integration done at Orten’s headquarters, the partners point out. Orten will exclusively fit them with the VEDS while contributing the battery, gateway and auxiliaries from its own portfolio.
Voith and Orten Electric-Trucks, a full retrofit solution
“Thanks to electrification, transportation is on the verge of a tremendous shift towards cleaner and more sustainable operation,” says Alexander Denk, Vice President E-Mobility at Voith. “But for many cities and operators, the acquisition of new electrically operated buses and trucks is a time-consuming and costly process. Our retrofit option offers a simple and cost-efficient way to future-proof vehicle fleets while contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions and mobility growth in cities.”
“With Voith’s globally oriented sales and service network and Orten Electric-Trucks’ many years of experience in the electrification of commercial vehicles, the strategic partnership between both companies offers operators the full range of services for the conversion to fully-electric drives,” says Robert Orten, CEO Orten Electric-Trucks.
