BMW, NTU set up joint research lab [News]

By Try Sutrisno Foo, Channel NewsAsia, 27 Apr 2013.

German carmaker BMW has set up a joint research lab with Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

For a start, the Future Mobility Research Lab will look into making longer lasting batteries for green cars.

The lab, located in NTU’s Research Techno Plaza, is the carmaker’s first joint lab in Southeast Asia.

The two sides are investing S$5.5 million over three years into the project.

Researchers will test new materials for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, which will be able to charge faster, have greater resistance to heat, are less flammable and have a longer lifespan.

The lab is doing is experimenting with the use of nano-structures such as nanotubes, nanopowders and nanofibres to aid in conducting the flow of lithium ions within a lithium-ion battery when charging and discharging.

Other new materials the university is looking into include lithium-air batteries, where the battery generates energy flow by making use of oxygen molecules while discharging and when recharging, generates oxygen.

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Source: Channel NewsAsia

City Square Mall Is First Shopping Mall To Install Communal Electric Vehicle Charger Under Singapore Electric Vehicle Test-Bed [Press Releases]

Singapore, 19 September 2012 – City Square Mall, Singapore’s first Eco-mall – owned and managed by City Developments Limited (CDL), is proud to announce that an electric vehicle (EV) charger has been installed at the Basement 3 car park in end July 2012. This is the first communal EV charger located in a shopping mall under the Singapore EV Test-bed by the EV Taskforce (EVTF). EV participants under the EV Test-bedding Programme will now be able to take advantage of this facility at the mall and can have their car charged while running errands at the mall. With the current battery technology, a full charge would allow the EV to travel for a range between 90km to 160 km. Read more

Micro electric vehicle tests at NUS [News]

By Today, 20 Jul 2012.

To find out whether it is viable to use micro electric vehicles (EVs) for short-distance travel in Singapore, the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Engineering and Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific (TTAP) have launched a one-year joint study.

The findings will help to develop a system to enable efficient management of EVs and a self-service EV rental scheme for staff and students to commute on campus.

Using the NUS Kent Ridge campus and the NUS University Town as a test bed, the NUS and TTAP will deploy a fleet of 10 Toyota Auto Body COMS, which are single-seater micro EVs, for the study. Read more

Singapore’s Mayton Automotive to develop electric car [News]

By Channel NewsAsia, 14 Jul 2012.

Singapore is developing its very own electric vehicle, with a prototype expected at year-end.

Local company Mayton Automotive is jointly building the car with partners from China and the United States.

The firm is also pumping S$10 million over five years into establishing an electric vehicle research and development centre in Singapore.

Mayton Automotive is a subsidiary of Singapore-based Lihe Investment Holdings.

The company is working with China’s Hebei Shanghong Technology and America’s Maytown Technologies to manufacture the electric vehicles.

The vehicles will be built in the Hengshui City Economic Development Zone in China. Read more

Singapore Power undertakes study on electric cars [News]

By Dylan Loh, Channel NewsAsia, 1 Mar 2012.

Singapore Power is undertaking a one- to two-year study on the impact of electric vehicles on the national grid.

It is using three electric vans to simulate larger-scale adoption of eco-friendly transport.

Based on the findings, authorities will take steps to ensure the power supply can cope with thousands of such vehicles charging simultaneously.

How much power is needed to charge 25,000 electric cars?

There are currently some 630,000 cars on Singapore’s roads today.

Wong Kim Yin, Group Chief Executive of Singapore Power, said: “If they are all charged at the same time, the amount of power required would be the same as that required to power the whole of Ang Mo Kio. And these vehicles could be charged from anywhere on the island other than its home base. 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

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

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

How to Address the Key Barriers to the Widespread Acceptance of E-vehicles

This article is contributed by Mr Ishan Palit, President and CEO, TÜV SÜD Asia Pacific. He addresses the greatest challenges to the widespread adoption of electric-powered vehicles (e-vehicles).

In the last five years, the manufacturing, awareness and usage of e-vehicles has rapidly gathered pace, buoyed by the introduction of attractive government incentives and mounting concerns about the future availability of oil and world’s burgeoning carbon footprint. According to Pike Research, this trend will only intensify. A recent report [1] from the firm predicts a total of 3.2 million electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, such as Nissan Motor Co.’s Leaf model and General Motors Co.’s Volt, will be sold between 2010 and 2015 with a compound annual growth rate of 106%. Projections from Bloomberg New Energy Finance echo these sentiments. It believes plug-in electric hybrid cars could account for 9 percent of total U.S. auto sales by 2020 and 22 percent by 2030. Read more

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