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A technology company has designed and developed the first all-electric bus in Kenya that could potentially be massed-produced across Africa.
Opibus is a Swedish-Kenyan technology company’s vision to provide a locally designed and developed electric bus that can be mass-produced for the Pan-African market by the end of 2023. This is also a step towards realising the company’s goal of electrifying Africa’s public transport system, deploying products tailored for the local use case.
The bus is designed and developed in-house with local engineering talent, while at the same time utilising local manufacturing partners. Opibus was the first company to deliver locally produced electric motorcycles in Kenya. With nearly 100 employees, of which 40% are female employees, Opibus is today the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles in Africa and has one of the largest fleets of electric motorcycles deployed so far. The company is gaining significant traction in Kenya, with over 170 vehicles deployed to date.
Here is a summary of the specifications of the new electric bus from Opibus:
Power: 225 kW
Torque: 706 Nm
Top speed: 85 km/h
Battery capacity: 121 kWh (LiFePO4 battery)
DC charging power: 90 kW (CCS Combo 2)
Charging time: 1.5 hours
AC charging power: 20 kW
Driving range: up to 120 km
Regenerative braking to battery (customisable)
Fully electric power steering
IP67 waterproof rated powertrain
Liquid cooled motor, controller, & charger
Scale up of electric buses in Africa could be possible
Opibus’ proprietary electric vehicle platform is modular and can be the foundation for several types of vehicles. This enables the creation of a bus that is suitable for the African use case in its reliability, durability and price point. This also means local and global contract manufacturers can be used to create a globally competitive product, with a rapid scale-up.
This bus will significantly lower the cost for operators to switch to electric vehicles compared with importing fully built electric buses. The electric bus will also offer operators a superior operating experience and performance compared to its diesel counterpart. With the installation of a powerful motor, the bus has maximum torque, which improves performance while enabling the driver to accelerate more responsively.
Additionally, since the electric bus does not have a combustion engine or manual gearboxes, there are no oil/filters/gaskets that need to be changed. This translates to an 80% reduction in maintenance expenses, compared to a diesel bus. Energy costs for electric vehicles are also significantly lower than the ever-increasing diesel price, therefore the total operating expenses are lowered by 50%, which could revolutionise the public transport sector in Africa.
“This first electric bus is set to be launched commercially mid this year. Following this, the platform will be tested at scale in commercial deployment of 10 buses during the second half of 2022. In doing so, we ensure that we gather valuable feedback to continue the development of the product for an optimised market fit. It feels great to be the first movers in this very exciting space,” said Dennis Wakaba, Opibus project coordinator for public transport.
Where to next?
The deployment of the buses will initially be in peri-urban areas around the Nairobi metropolitan area, paired with a business model that enables operators to save from day one. Along with the bus deployment, several charging points will be installed from already existing range of products. These chargers will be a mix of AC (slow) and DC (fast) chargers.
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Using the fast charger, the electric bus will be fully charged within an hour, enabling seamless operations. The company also recently secured sub-Saharan Africa’s largest ever fundraise in electromobility. They partnered with Uber after a successful pilot in Kenya and aim to deploy up to 3,000 electric motorcycles by the end of 2022. |
