KAMAZ AT SPIGF-2021

8 October 2021

On these days, the top managers and experts of KAMAZ PTC are taking part in the 10th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum hosted by the Expoforum site.

The St. Petersburg International Gas Forum is considered one of the most distinguished business events of the gas industry. It is annually attended by representatives of Russian ministries and departments concerned, global gas industry leaders, Russian and international industry associations, scientific institutes and analytical centers. More than 30% of the events of the business program are visited by international experts from different countries. The events of the forum are usually held in various formats: meetings, conferences, round tables.

One of the key events of the SPIGF-2021 was the plenary session “Natural gas as engine fuel for sustainable development of Russian regions”, which took place on Thursday, October 7. Among the speakers at the event was Evgeny Pronin, Director for NGVs of KAMAZ PTC, Russia’s top truck manufacturer, who made a presentation on “KAMAZ NGVs – a practical solution to improve the efficiency of road transport”. According to the head of the gas vehicles development, one of the key activities at KAMAZ, there is a ground for the widespread use of NGV fuel, gas vehicles are on a par with diesel ones by specification, and the refueling network is being developed rapidly.

“Just a few years ago a 12-liter KAMAZ engine generated only 240 hp, but now our new R6 gas engine of the same size has a capacity of 450 hp. An LNG truck tractor runs on one filling the same distance as a diesel one,” said Evgeny Pronin. He also said that goods in Russia travelled long distances, and it was important to reduce the cost of long-haul transportation. The use of NGV fuel help haulers save a lot. So, KAMAZ has mastered the production of a whole range of CNG and LNG tractors. These vehicles are in massive demand now when more and more gas stations appear on the main highways.

Gas-powered KAMAZ vehicles and buses are already produced to scale. “Our company has organized the production of all types of specialized vehicles, long-haul tractors and buses running on NGV fuel in order to solve environmental problems in the regions and to make vehicle operation cost-effective,” noted Evgeny Pronin. “In recent years, we have been actively cooperating with the regions to replace obsolete diesel buses in their fleets with these ecofriendly and money-saving vehicles, also working under the Safe and High-Quality Motorways national project.”

The speaker gave specific examples of economic advantages one can get operating NGV vehicles. “Real-life operation of gas buses in Kazan proved their efficiency. Each bus saves more than 910 thousand rubles a year on fuel and reduces owning cost by 664 thousand rubles,” the head quoted the figures. “In order to demonstrate the benefits of transition to methane in the regions, we have simulated the replacement of the truck fleet in Krasnodar Krai and revealed that even a 20 percent share of NGVs in this fleet provides annual fuel savings of 6.5 billion rubles.” KAMAZ gas vehicles enjoy great demand, which is another example of the boost of this market. The fleet of gas-powered KAMAZ vehicles and buses numbers more than fifteen thousand units.

NGVs have actually proved their viability and efficiency, being already a full-fledged alternative to diesel vehicles. KAMAZ offers a wide range of trucks and buses running on compressed and liquefied natural gas. Russia is fully ready for their use. The time has come for a massive and quick transition to the use of NGVs in the regions.

The KAMAZ vehicles, which were mentioned in the speech, are shown at the exhibition organized at the forum. The visitors of the KAMAZ stand have an opportunity to see a vehicle from the K5 generation – a KAMAZ-54901 LNG-powered freight truck, as well as an R6 gas engine and some models from the KAMAZ expansive line of CNG vehicles.

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