T E C H N O L O G Y

F O R

T H

E N V I R O N M E N T system were replaced w i t h a liquid-cooled i n d u c t i o n m o t o r - d r i v e system i m p o r t e d from Europe and the batteries, w h i c h were m o d i f i e d before they were installed, came f r o m Germany. The P o l y t e c h n i c is cur r e n t l y w o r k i n g o n d e v e l o p i n g its o w n version of the motor-drive system and on i m p r o v i n g the battery technology. It also aims to i m p r o v e t h e i n s u l a t i o n system and the materials f o r the battery casing, and to change the i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n so that the bus can be operated w i t h simple p u s h b u t t o n actions.

A Clean Ride: Electric Vehicles i n Hong Kong and Singapore

It has been over one hundred Davenport tric vehicle s developed are far from friendly and s ixty year s s ince vehicle, Thoma s yet elec Now the s e the first battery powered commonplace mode s of trans port on our roads . the make more

research in Singapore enx^ironmentally

and Hong Kong is helping

Long-distance E-Bus
The bus can travel up to 200km on a single charge, claims Chin, w h i c h is roughly the distance a bus travels i n Singapore every day. This is almost four times the possible distance of electric buses w o r l d w i d e , he added, c i t i n g tests i n the U n i t e d States, Europe and Britain w h i c h h a d registered distances o f 60 to 8 0 k m . The bus uses about 420 volts of ZOXY zinc-air batteries f r o m 408 cells and 204 volts of Booster A d v a n c e d Lead A c i d Batteries f r o m 51 batteries. Road trials, s t i l l u n d e r w a y , promise to i m p r o v e the range of the E-Bus to u p to 3 0 0 k m per charge. "Each time the brakes are applied, the batteries are recharged. F o r the same w e i g h t , the energy density o f Z i n c - A i r Batteries is at least five times that of the Advanced Lead A c i d batteries, that is the reason w h y the E-Bus can t r a v e l m u c h longer distances w h e n compared to other electric buses using conventional batter ies," explains C h i n . A t h i r d of the power generated by the batteries is used for the air-conditioning system. A safety feature m u c h i i k e the home circuit breaker cuts off the power supply i f any fault is detected. Further projects to be u n d e r t a k e n b y t h e Centre this year include the conversion of t w o vehicles for Power G r i d , a L o n d o n Taxi, and a 45-seater diesel bus. To achieve these conver sions, the department has two conversion teams, one for buses and the other for all other vehicle classes such as cars, taxis, vans, and golf carts. A total of 12 f a c u l t y members are i n v o l v e d . W i t h regards to research and development, 12 faculty members, all of w h o m are PhDs are i n v o l v e d . T h e areas of a p p l i e d R&D are:

practical.

by A n d r e w H a n i b e l z

roponents of electric vehicle tech nologies have long placed big hopes on the d e v e l o p m e n t o f electric vehicle (EV) prototypes f r o m the mature automobile industries of Japan and the United States. Of the t w o , Japan, w i t h its excessive reliance on petroleum imports, has "been regarded as the country w i t h the most urgent i n c e n t i v e to aggressively pursue EV initiatives. T r a d i t i o n a l deter rents, those of range and speed, are also less of a problem i n Japanese cities, where t y p i c a l distances between destinations and average d r i v i n g speeds rarely exceed EV limitations. The same arguments apply to the d e v e l o p m e n t and testing of EV prototypes i n Singapore and H ong Kong.

Regarding conversions, Professor P h i l i p Chin, Head of the Polytechnic's Electrical Engineering Department, claims progress has been r a p i d , beginning w i t h the suc cessful conversion of a ten-year-old Mazda 929 i n early March 1997. Following w h i c h , i n M a y 1997, the Centre successfully obtained a license plate f r o m the L a n d Transport A u t h o r i t y for the first manu factured EV i n Singapore. Later that same year, i n September, the Centre successfully converted a 19seater diesel engine bus, called the E-Bus. The p r o j e c t was u n d e r t a k e n w i t h the collaborative assistance of local bus fleet operator, Trans Island Bus Services, and a l o c a l EV c o m p a n y , Green F u e l Re sources. Retrofitting the bus w i t h an electric battery system took a ten-person team a mere four weeks. The engine and exhaust

EVs in Singapore
yrently, there are 15 electric vehicles on Singapore's roads, for research and testing purposes. A c c o r d i n g to the L a n d Transport A u t h o r i t y ( L T A ) . any ve hicles that can meet its technical, c o n s t r u c t i o n and safety requirements for registration, and w h i c h pay the necessary taxes, are allowed. Lead ing the charge for viable EV d e p l o y m e n t i n Singapore is the Centre for Electric Vehicles f o r m e d i n June 1996 by the Singapore P o l y technic's Electrical En gineering Department. The Centre has t w o areas o f focus, n a m e l y , conversions a n d R & D .

Singapore's E-Bus with the battery components on display.

A S I A ENGINEER, APRIL 1998

13

T E C H N O L O G Y Prototype M o t o r , con troller and drive train, A d vanced Direct Wheel Drive, Battery Management Sys tem, Energy Management System, EV s i m u l a t i o n s , Digital Instrumentation, B a t t e r y chargers, E M C / E M I . The Centre has also authored a m u l t i m e d i a CDROM, titled "EV-Story," w h i c h traces the history o f EVs to their present status.

F O R

T H

E N V I R O N M E N T of EV prototypes. These include an E V van, an EV car, three o f f - r o a d m i n i EVs a n d f o u r EV bikes. The EV car even possesses a v a l i d registration ap p r o p r i a t e l y d e n o t e d as H K U - E V l . C h a n sees a bright f u t u r e for electric cars i n A s i a , as m a n y countries l i k e I n d i a , I n donesia a n d China are as yet not completely depen dant o n cars r u n n i n g fos sil fuels. "These countries do not have an expensive gasoline based infrastruc ture to replace, as do the A m e r i c a n s and Europe ans," contends Chan. "As such, they are i n a better position to adopt the I* e c o - f r i e n d l y EV alterna tives that are now gaining

EVs i n Hong Kong

B o t h of the SAR's f r a n chised suppliers of elec tric power, China Light and Power and H ongkong Elec tric, have been r u n n i n g a test fleet of over 20 EVs for over a decade and the H ong Kong government encour ages the i n t r o d u c t i o n of EVs tax incentives.

The "U2001," an electric vehicle with advanced motor drive, intelligent energy management system and navigation system, developed by the University of Hong Kong in collaboration with industry. b y w a y of Chan, founder of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Re search Centre for Electric Vehicles and co-founder of the W o r l d Electric Vehicle Association, is k n o w n as one of the three wisemen of the international EV c o m m u nity. The Centre, founded i n 1986, has been i n v o l v e d i n the development of a number credibility."

H o n g Kong's o w n l u m i n a r y i n the f i e l d of EV research and development is Professor Chan Ching-chuen, E n d o w e d Honda Professor and H ead o f t h e Depaxt ment of Electrical and E l e c t r o n i c Engi neering at the U n i v e r s i t y o f H ong Kong.

About the A u t h o r
A n d r e w H anibelz is director of Esanam Research Correspondents, a c o m p a n y specializing i n ad hoc research.

OUR H A R D H ATS
f STEEL CONCRETE 1 TESTING 1 TESTING WELDING 1 INSPECTION PILE TESTING

We collect and deliver your car

FREE OF CHARGE
(Subject to Distance) We provide good quick repair service at reasonable prices Our competitive Labour Charges:FROM Lubrication Service Tune Up Engine $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 100.00 150.00 850.00 3500.00 750.00 650.00 180.00 300.00 300.00

m 1 ^

SOIL ENV. SITE & ROCK MONITORINGI INVESTIGN TESTING J

UTILITIES SURVEY

Engine Decoke & Grind Valves Engine Overhaul Brake System Overhaul Clutch Mechanically Overhaul Air Condition Freon Recharge

FOR Y O U R HA R D JOBS Which one can Stanger Asia help you with? Stanger Asia is accrediated for tests as listed in the H OKLAS 009 Directory. Accreditation No. 21 Stanger Asia Ltd G/F & 1/F Din Wai Ind Bidg., 13 On Chuen Street, Fanling, N.T. Tel:26821203 Fax:26820046
Home Page WWW.hk.super.net/ - stanger /stanger home.htm

Alternator Overhaul Starter Motor Overhaul

ALL REPAIRS WITH TH REE MONTH S GUARANTEE

Our Business Hours: 8am-6pm, Mon-Sat & Public Holiday Our 24 hrs. Emergency Towing Agent 'Universal' 2519 8731

Please call us at 2565 6166 FAX: 2856 1047

FOOKIE MOTORS CO. LTD.

G/F., F E D E R A L I N D U S T R I A L B L D G . , 8 A K U N G N G A M V I L L A G E R O A D , SHAU K E I W A N , H ONG KONG.

14

A S I A ENGINEER, A P R I L 1 9 9 8