Plug-In Singapore 2009 Conference & Expo 2009
Source: Channel News Asia 20th Nov 2009;

2009 Mini E
Source: Jay Leno's Garage Aug 09;

Nissan unveils 'Leaf'
Source: Straitstimes 2 Aug 09;

YOKOHAMA (Japan) - NISSAN Motor Co took the wraps off its much-awaited electric car on Sunday, naming the hatchback 'Leaf' and taking a step towards its goal of leading the industry in the zero-emission field.

Japan's No 3 automaker and its French partner, Renault SA, have been the most aggressive proponents of pure electric vehicles in the auto industry, announcing plans to mass-market the clean but expensive cars globally in 2012.

Nissan will begin selling the first Leaf cars in the United States and Japan in the latter half of next year, adding more models in rapid succession.

Twinning the car's unveiling with the inauguration of Nissan's new global headquarters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn drove up to the stage in a sky-blue Leaf prototype, carrying former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and two other guests to greet a throng of journalists who made the trip from all over the world.

'We celebrate today the start of a new chapter of our company's life,' Mr Ghosn said.

Nissan is returning to the port city of Yokohama, where it was founded in 1933, after being based in Tokyo's posh Ginza district for the last 41 years.

Hit by sliding vehicle sales worldwide since the financial crisis hit last year, Nissan has suspended its goals set under a mid-term business plan, with the exception of its aggressive push into the electric car business.

Nissan did not announce pricing for the five-seater Leaf, but Ghosn said the price, without the expensive lithium-ion battery that Nissan expects to lease, would be within the range of a comparable gasoline-engine car.

Other automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen AG have also announced plans to launch electric cars in the next several years, but expect implementation to take time due to the vehicle's high cost, limited driving range and long charging times.

Nissan's Leaf will have a cruising range of 160 km (100 miles) and a top speed of over 140 km/hour (76 mph). -- REUTERS

 One Day with My Electric Vehicle
Source: Renault

 Race to put electric cars on roads in Singapore heating up
Source: Channelnewsasia 11 July 09;

SINGAPORE: It may take till 2011 before mainstream manufacturers roll out their first vehicles, but the race to put electric cars on Singapore's roads is already heating up.

Having increased his fleet from one to five, The Green Car Company managing director Clarence Tan, 25, told TODAY he is moving onto the next stage of test-bedding, months ahead of Nissan and Renault's plans to take part in the Energy Market Authority's $20-million test-bedding trial. The fund was launched in May.

And last week, Mitsubishi was the latest manufacturer to showcase its first electric car in Singapore. It also pledged to join the national trial.

Even as the electric vehicle scene revs up, it will not be as simple as putting more of these prototypes on the road, car companies added. "There's the charging infrastructure to consider – we need to build that (and) find which type of batteries perform best in our hot tropical weather and so on," said Mr Tan, who has been evaluating battery performance the past two years.

In the next part of his study, his Singapore-based company hopes to boost the current range of his NMG (No More Gas) car from 50km to 120km and to switch from lead acid batteries to lithium batteries so as to increase battery life from three years to six.
Another firm, Ample, has similar plans.

Founded by former Chartered Semiconductor employee Lim Kian Wee, it will be testing an electric Sports Utility Vehicle on the roads next month with Nanyang Polytechnic and National University of Singapore.

It is also looking at R&D for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, among other technology.

The company, based in Singapore and California, plans to mass-market plug-in vehicle technology from 2010.

Infrastructure, for which EMA's fund will be largely used, will be key, though.

"We need to work out the charging points, which technology to use, how do we improve battery charging times ... There are so many things to test-bed before electric vehicles become a norm," said NUS mechanical engineering associate professor Wong Yoke San, who is working with Ample.

But why have mainstream manufacturers not committed to a definite date for test-bedding their cars?

An EMA spokesperson said, "It's not that car manufacturers are reluctant to take part, but they're not sure when the cars will come on line. A lot of these cars are prototype models."

Esther Ng

Electric City: Singapore giving electric vehicles a go
Source: Straits Times 11 May 09;

AFTER deliberating for more than 10 years, Singapore has decided to give electric vehicles (EVs) a go. The Government has said it will set aside $20 million for a trial that will put the first EVs on the roads here from next year.

The three-year programme will not only test the robustness of EVs, it will explore how EV owners can sell back unused power to the electricity grid; it will also measure the carbon footprint EVs leave behind. Senior Correspondent Christopher Tan reports

GETTING STARTED: The first electric cars from mainstream manufacturers could arrive by January 2011. Models from Nissan and Renault are likely to be the first, followed by choices from several other major manufacturers after 2012. Those who are picky about design and performance need not fret. Not all electric cars are geeky transport pods that seat only two and max out at 90kmh.

The Tesla Model S (above) is a high-performance saloon that seats five and has a huge boot. It hits 100kmh in under six seconds and covers 480km on a single charge. Right-hand-drive models are expected in two years.

Estimated price: $190,000 on the road before the green rebate.

DRIVING: An electric car operates pretty much like a petrol-powered car, except that, instead of cranking it up, you just switch it on. It is almost silent on the go and when idling, has no gears and is very torquey.

No lubricants are needed, so it is cheaper to run than a conventional car and is practically maintenance free.

A compact model consumes less than $1 in power a day, against around $4 in fuel for a petrol-equivalent car.

KEEP MOVING: Charging points are unlikely to be as commonplace as petrol stations. In countries which have had EVs for over a decade, like France (above) and the United States, street signs point EV owners to the nearest charging stations.

Motorists will also be able to look up where these are online. A Web-based locator will be useful if and when Malaysia jumps on the electric bandwagon. Its national car-maker Proton recently said it is exploring partnerships to start making electric cars as early as the end of this year.

FILLIN' UP: For those living in landed property, charging the car at home will be a cinch. Most users however will rely on public charging points.

A smart card-based access and payment system could be one way of ensuring that these points are secure, safe and tamper-proof.

The user drives into a lot reserved for EVs (below) and taps a card on a reader to open the charging outlet. He either keys in the charge time he wants or selects a 'charge to full' button. He hooks up the car to the point and taps the card to shut the outlet.

GOING GREENER: EVs here will rely on gas-fired power stations for electricity, so they will not - strictly speaking - be 'zero emission'.

However, they will still be a lot more efficient than combustion-engine cars because they are able to convert 90 per cent (or more) of the energy used into motion, compared to less than 40 per cent for fuel-driven cars.

The California Air Resources Board has said that even if 10,000 EVs in California are all plugged in at the same time to recharge, they would take up less than 0.06 per cent of California's total power demand.

Plug in and fill up
Source: Straits Times 11 May 09;

WITH close to 90 per cent of Singapore residents living in high-rises, charging up an electric car will not be as simple as pulling an extension cord out to the driveway.

Facilities for public charging will thus be needed, but setting these up will not be that straightforward.

Several options are on the table, but the one Singapore picks has to be applicable to a wide range of electric vehicles (EVs), including commercial vehicles, two-wheelers and plug-in hybrids.

Mr Anthony Rawlinson, the Singapore-based former chairman of US electric vehicle systems maker Enova, said charging formats are either of the inductive or conductive type.

Inductive chargers, which operate by proximity electromagnetics, are thoroughly weather-proof but costly.

No metal parts are exposed, like the way some electric toothbrushes and shavers are charged. In some systems, the driver does not even have to touch anything. He simply parks near a charging point and the system takes over.

Mr Rawlinson said that there is no need to go with this sophisticated system, since it only has only one real advantage - an aesthetic one.

The conductive method, as the name suggests, requires contact and thus involves plugging in.

Mr Rawlinson said this method is not necessarily less safe, since the car and the charger itself will have circuit breakers and everything is heavily insulated.

'It's almost child-proof,' he said.

Industry observers believe Singapore will go for the conductive method.

But even here, there are two types to choose from - the normal-charge and the quick-charge types.

The former is essentially a regular electrical outlet linked to a secured access and payment system. Estimated to cost less than $10,000 each, a normal-charge system takes six to eight hours to charge an EV fully.

A quick-charge system, costing at least five times more, can juice up a battery-powered car in 20 to 50 minutes. Partial charges can be done in as quickly as five minutes, which will make the vehicle good for about 40 km.

Mr Andre Roy, the group managing director of Wearnes Automotive, which will offer electric cars from 2011, said: 'My feeling is that we'll start with a normal-charging system, then move gradually to quick-charging.'

He foresees operators charging a premium for quick charges, which will mostly be for top-ups which EV owners will purchase for just enough power to get them to a normal charging station.

Normal-charging points are likely to be in sheltered Housing Board carparks, with lots reserved for EV owners.

Mr Roy said these charging points could become 'a revenue source' for restaurants, carpark operators and small businesses.

The Wearnes group has had early talks with HDB on setting up charging points.

Mr Rawlinson said plenty of charging points will be needed - and soon - for EVs to work here.

'You can't start like the CNG exercise, with only one station on Jurong Island. We have only a small window for EVs to take hold before oil jumps back up.'

It was only last year that crude oil hit record levels of close to US$150 a barrel. Prices are now around US$55 a barrel.

To kick-start EVs, Mr Rawlinson suggested that utility companies undertake to build the first charging points and also to provide free charging. He also pointed out that EV fleet owners can trade in the carbon credits earned on their fleets to businesses which need them.

Meanwhile, California-based EV service provider Better Place is advocating battery exchange as an alternative to having a network of charging points.

Its spokesman explained that the company has developed battery-switch stations which mechanically remove exhausted batteries and replace these with new ones - in under a minute.

This week, Better Place will unveil the world's first such exchange in Yokohama, Japan.

CHRISTOPHER TAN

Countries and car makers gearing for change
Source: Straits Times 11 May 09;

NATIONS and car-makers the world over are looking to electric vehicles (EV) as an alternative to the combustion engine.

This latest attempt comes on the back of progress in battery technologies and an expanding charging infrastructure.

Energy groups and about 20 car makers such as Renault and Nissan have been working with the German group RWE to develop a universal standard plug. This can be used with a 400-volt supply enabling a full charge in about 20 minutes.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has begun zero emission vehicle initiatives in Japan's Kanagawa prefecture and Yokohama, as well as in Israel, Denmark, Portugal, Monaco, Britain, France, Switzerland, Ireland, China and Hong Kong.

In the United States, the Alliance is looking into developing an EV infrastructure in half a dozen states.

Later this year, the US' Fisker Karma will roll out the world's first plug-in hybrid sports car. It will be powered by lithium-manganese batteries supplied by Vancouver-based Advanced Lithium Power, founded and led by Singapore-born Lim Loong Keng. In China, cellphone battery maker BYD claims to have made a car that can run over 400km on a single charge. It has attracted foreign investors like Mr Warren Buffet, who holds a nearly 10 per cent stake in it, and is in talks to appoint a dealer in Singapore.

California-based EV service provider Better Place has persuaded Australia, California, Hawaii and Canada to commit to setting up EV-charging networks.

Several countries have perks in place to encourage EVs. In the US, buyers get a rebate of up to US$7,500 (S$11,000) each; in Norway, free charging points and exemption of import tax, and India, free parking and no road tax. Recently, Britain set aside &pound20 million (S$44 million) to build EV charging points and facilities. Buyers will get up to &pound5,000 in rebates.

Nearer Singapore, in Japan, Tokyo Electric Power will roll out about 200 quick-charge stations by March 2010.

But nothing quite signals the change of tide as Ford Motor's move: It has put US$550 million into retooling a Michigan plant that once produced bulky SUVs to make an all-electric Focus by 2011.

CHRISTOPHER TAN

What green light for electric motoring means
Source: Straits Times 11 May 09;

THE $20 million in government funding to help put electric vehicles on the road beginning next year comes in the wake of important breakthroughs in green automotive technology. Research and development in energy storage has yielded alternatives that are lighter, capable of holding a charge longer and more readily recycled than lead batteries. Electric cars continue to go farther before requiring charging. As they begin to match vehicles running on petrol or diesel in terms of distance as well as utility, they are becoming the more obvious choice for being more energy efficient and thus, environmentally safer.

More so than almost all countries, Singapore is a good fit for them. Commuting distances in the compact city state rarely exceed their range. Electric motors emit almost no pollutant, unlike internal combustion engines which spew fumes that contain carcinogenic and other harmful particulates. Electric cars will transfer their environmental impact to power stations that supply them electrical energy, but the three main electricity generating plants - PowerSeraya, Senoko and Tuas - run mostly on natural gas, which burns more cleanly than does coal or oil. If even cleaner energy options emerge later, it is more practical and economical to retrofit a few power stations than 850,000 petrol or diesel vehicles.

In helping to set up the infrastructure for electrical charging, the Government will need to consider a separate grid or different tariffs. It has to ensure prices will not rise for all consumers as demand increases. With little doubt remaining in the environmental argument for going electric, land transport policy needs to focus on pricing, including the true cost of congestion. How much will electric cars add to traffic jams? The 40 per cent rebate on additional registration fee for 'green' - including electric - vehicles recognises their smaller carbon footprint despite their similar physical size. If electric cars really catch on by 2011 when the rebate ends, the green incentive might become counter-effective.

A more desirable approach would be to favour electric buses and taxis over cars. Greening public transport will kill two birds with one stone: Help to reduce peak-hour gridlock while serving the environmental cause. Singapore has fewer buses per million people than Hong Kong or London, according to the Land Transport Authority. Adding electric buses to the fleet is the way to catch up. These are fast becoming as clean and as energy efficient as lighter electrical vehicles. Electric motoring is getting the green light, but the road ahead must be clear.

Singapore electric vehicles: Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction
Source: Channelnewsasia 7 May 09;

A multi-agency taskforce chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been set up to study the introduction of electric vehicles (EV's) in Singapore from 2010. Key industry players include auto manufacturers and technology companies. S$20 million will be set aside to support infrastructure development and tests for electric vehicles. The EV test-bed will allow testing of different EV prototypes and charging technologies as well as research into vehicle-to-grid (V2G) power, and is expected to run for three years (2010-2012). The taskforce will then evaluate the scope for larger scale adoption of EV's in the future.

EMA CEO Mr Lawrence Wong said Singapore is well-positioned for the deployment of EVs because of its compact urban environment, robust electrical grid and IT infrastructure. The EV test-bed offers potential economic benefits for manufacturing and R&D, such as in battery technology, power electronics and electric drive systems. Renault-Nissan and Keppel Energy have signed an MOU with the EV taskforce. Renault-Nissan will supply EVs and share knowledge to develop common standards. Keppel Energy will develop charging stations and other supporting infrastructure.

- The timeline of 2010 to 2012 for the EV test program looks great. In fact, it looks like pretty good timing to me, with the likes of Toyota, Honda and Nissan and Mazda already planning PHEV's and EV's, and lithium-ion hybrid car battery manufacturing tie-ups coming up between major players including Honda-Yuasa, Toyota-Panasonic and Nissan-NEC. And on the American side of things, if/when they emerge from the current situation, they have the Chevrolet Volt, while the higher-end folks may start considering the Tesla Model S or the Tesla Roadster.

As an aside, back in Sep-Oct 2006, the Singapore government issued a National Climate Change Strategy call for consultation. My response included this item : "Consider a strategy to implement infrastructure for recharging of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, eg Cashcard-based overnight recharging stations in carparks". Of course technology and standards have evolved since then, with the current thinking as far as I can gather being the adoption of compact, standardized 440V/480V charging stations that can be put nearly anywhere including along roadsides (and hence near shops, businesses and other areas where people will visit), or inside carparks, existing petrol stations and so on, with quick charging times of just 15-20 minutes.

People like myself, whether environmentalists, peakoilers, or just concerned citizens, have been trying to push for something like this since years back. It is good to see the Singapore government starting to look into the possibility of introducing EV's onto Singapore's roads. This is a progressive and forward-looking initiative.

Honda Civic GX CNG
Source: Jay Leno's Garage Dec 08;

Electric Car Feeds Grid - V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid)
Source: Discovery Channel

2008 Tesla Roadster
Source: Jay Leno's Garage Mar 08;