NUS running electric vehicle trial [News]

By Royston Sim, The Straits Times, 14 Jan 2012.

The National University of Singapore will launch a trial this year to study whether one-seater electric vehicles can enhance travel around its campuses.

Participants will use the Toyota COMS – a single-seater micro electric vehicle (EV) resembling a golf buggy – to shuttle between the NUS Kent Ridge campus and University Town (NUS UTown).

The year-long study will test the viability of using such vehicles to provide ‘personal mobility on demand’ at NUS.

The trial is led by Professor Chua Kee Chaing, who said it is likely to start by April with a fleet of 10 vehicles – provided free by trial partner Toyota Tsusho (Singapore). Read more

A requiem for their electric dreams … [News]

By Esther Ng, Today, 14 Nov 2011.

Imagine building cars out of a workshop the size of a three-room HDB flat. That was what Mr Clarence Tan, 28, planned to do in 2008, after he had invested S$250,000 to set up The Green Car Company (TGCC). His dream was to manufacture 2,500 two-seater, air-conditioned electric cars a year, starting from last year.

Three years on, TGCC did not make a single car. The project has since been shelved.

Mr Tan, who is now focusing on his existing robotics business, is not the only entrepreneur who had his grand electric vehicle (EV) dreams dashed: The same year that Mr Tan set up TGCC, Mr Lim Kian Wee, then 36, reportedly quit his S$200,000-a-year engineering job, liquidated his investments and took out his retirement savings to start green technology firm Ample. Read more

Clean Energy Expo Asia 2011 Trade Fair [Photos]

The annual Clean Energy Expo Asia (CEEA) 2011 Trade Fair is held at Suntec Singapore from 1 to 3 Nov. This year’s CEEA Trade Fair hosts about 170 exhibiting companies from 26 countries, with 6 country pavilions from Canada, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Switzerland. Exhibitors showcase clean energy solutions including solar energy, energy efficiency, biomass, biogas, biofuel, and electric vehicles.

Here are some photos of exhibits at the Trade Fair: Read more

Electric dream closer to reality [News]

By Christopher Tan, The Straits Times, 1 Nov 2011.

Drivers keen to take the green route have an affordable electric car from French maker Renault to look forward to.

It will offer a battery-powered electric sedan here from as early as next February, at a price comparable to that of some conventional models.

Renault area operations manager (Asean and Japan) Arnaud Mourgue told The Straits Times that the Fluence ZE will cost about $164,000.

This is with certificate of entitlement (COE) and a green vehicle rebate which trims the Additional Registration Fee, the main car tax, by 40 per cent.

This puts the Fluence ZE – a mid-sized car slightly smaller than the Toyota Camry – in the same price ballpark as mass- market petrol models like the Honda Accord, Volkswagen Passat and BMW’s entry-level 1-series. ‘We invested €4 billion (S$7 billion) on electric cars so we want to make them a commercial success,’ said Mr Mourgue. Read more

Singapore’s strategies to meet its energy challenge amid an uncertain global energy future

Singapore is taking steps to address its energy challenge by diversifying energy mix, managing energy demand, and encouraging innovative technologies, amid an uncertain global energy future.

During his Opening Address at the Singapore Energy Lecture, which kicks off the annual Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2011, Mr S Iswaran, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, shares Singapore’s three strategies in addressing its energy challenge, given its over dependence on energy imports and the need to secure reliable and affordable energy supplies.

Diversify Energy Supply

Mr Iswaran shared that the key thrust of Singapore’s energy strategy is the diversification of its energy supplies through Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and electricity imports. Singapore will also continue to explore other options like solar energy. Read more

Green drive going places [News]

By Maria Almenoar, The Straits Times, 17 Oct 2011.

Car-renting is taking a new environmentally- friendly route in January.

That is when a business that provides electric cars – and also electric scooters and electric bicycles – for hire will be launched in Buona Vista.

Clean Mobility Singapore, an environmental start-up company, will be rolling out charging stations in a trial at graduate business school Insead before it considers expanding the network.

The pilot trial will have one electric car, three scooters and 20 bicycles for the staff and students to rent on a per-minute basis using ez-link cards.

Insead’s director of operations and campus service, Mr James Middleditch, said the scheme is likely to be very popular. Read more

A greener ride on Sentosa [News]

By Esther Ng, Today, 23 Sep 2011.

For three months, a 10-year-old Renault Kangoo van zipped around the hilly terrain of Sentosa island on only 10 cents a kilometre.

An electric vehicle company, evHUB, which converted the diesel-powered van to an electric plug-in in 2009, had lent the van to the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC).

From May to July, five members of the island’s maintenance staff used the vehicle to perform their daily duties, checking on installations and transporting goods.

The test-bedding allowed the corporation to “experience” the use of an electric vehicle in a “living laboratory environment” and “created an awareness amongst users on how an electric vehicle can be part of the island’s operations”, SDC’s corporate planning divisional director Chan Mun Wei told Today. Read more

What drives electric vehicles here? [News]

By Chua Wen Hao and Jonathan Chan, The Business Times, 9 Sep 2011.

Global crude oil prices have risen to record highs over recent months and petrol prices have risen in tandem. Factor in growing concerns over global warming and issues of energy security, and the stage appears set for the electric vehicle (EV) to appear in Singapore.

The benefits of adopting EVs are significant. Maintenance and operating costs of EVs can fall to a third of those of their conventional counterparts, leading to cost savings for customers. On the environmental front, EVs themselves produce no tailpipe emissions, but the gencos (power generation companies) that produce electricity do. Singapore largely relies on natural gas to generate electricity, which is significantly cleaner than gasoline or diesel which are used in conventional vehicles. Read more

Electric car trial charges ahead [News]

By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 25 Aug 2011.

The charge for the electric car to be part of the motoring landscape here has started.

Take Mr Eu Pui Sun, managing director of Senoko Energy Supply, who shares just such a car – a Mitsubishi iMiEV – with his colleagues.

The company bought it for $90,000 in June as part of a government project to gauge the viability of these cars here.

‘We wanted to support the green technology,’ said Mr Eu.

The $20 million, three-year trial will evaluate factors such as the distance such cars can achieve here and the extent of support infrastructure needed.

Companies and organisations here can lease or buy up to 95 such cars in total from distributors and manufacturers without paying vehicular taxes or bidding for certificates of entitlement. Read more

Tesla sports car returns to electrify roads [News]

By Grace Chua, The Straits Times, 21 Jul 2011.

MOTORISTS here who want to draw envious stares while feeling environmentally friendly will soon be able to get behind the wheel of the world’s first electric sports car.

The Tesla Roadster is being imported by a local firm after its American maker closed its Singapore office without clinching any sales.

Prices will start at about $520,000, including a Category B certificate of entitlement.

The 288-horsepower two-seater can go from 0-100kmh in four seconds, hit a top speed of 201kmh, and has a range of 500km in optimal driving conditions.

The firm, FSG Mobility Concepts, claims there will be a strong demand from luxury goods buyers keen to make a fashion statement while displaying their green credentials. Read more

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