SINGAPORE - Two universities have worked together to develop an
electric taxi that works well in tropical cities and could help the
country to combat climate change. It was designed and built by TUM
Create, a collaboration between Nanyang Technological University
and Germany's Technische Universitat Munchen.
Here are five unique features of the vehicle known as EVA.
1. Fast charging
Conventional electric vehicles take six to eight hours to charge
and usually cover up to 160km on a full charge. But EVA has a 200km
range and takes just 15 minutes to charge.
For a Toyota Corolla Altis with a full tank of petrol, it can
cover about 550km.
2. Energy-efficient
The taxi has an overhead air-conditioning system that cools
individual seats, so air-conditioning for unoccupied zones can be
switched off to reduce energy wastage. It also has fans in the
seats that wick away heat and moisture, thus reducing the reliance
on air-conditioning.
3. Top speed
It can travel at up to 111 km/h. The speed limit on Singapore's
highways is 90km/h. So these small babies can move pretty
quickly.
4. Lightweight car body
The taxi's skeleton is made entirely of carbon fibre, which is
five times as strong as steel, two times as stiff, yet weighs about
two-thirds less. It is also used on planes and other vehicles such
as Formula One sports cars.
By using the lightweight but super strong material, the electric
taxi could weigh 150kg lighter than other vehicles of the same
size. But the design means that it will not compromise on strength
or durability.
5. Child seats
Most parents do not bring their own child seats when travelling
in taxis with their young ones. In EVA, the back of the front seat
can be folded down to act as a child seat, thus allowing children
aged nine months to three years to travel more safely.
6. Low carbon footprint
Studies have shown that electric vehicles have half the carbon
footprint of conventional vehicles. Taxis, in particular, have a
greater impact on the environment than private cars.
Close to 30,000 taxis ply the roads, making up just 3 per cent
of all vehicles here. But researchers estimate that they travel 15
per cent of the total distance covered by the vehicles.
7. There isn't much detail on how much such a taxi will
cost but chances are until technology is well adopted, it will be
high.
Batteries make up a huge chunk of the final cost of an electric
car, but they are getting cheaper. They now cost around US$500 a
kilowatt-hour, a 60 per cent drop from 2010. That could plunge
further to US$175 within five years.
Apart from cost, having enough charging stations is another key
factor. That has been an obstacle to electric-car adoption in the
United States, Germany and China. For EVA, Singapore's more than 70
existing charging stations may need to be retrofitted.
These two factors, cost and accessibility, will probably be the
most crucial elements. If mass adoption takes off, this technology
will enter a virtuous cycle that could lead to lower prices and a
lower carbon footprint. But if batteries do not get cheaper and
have few stations to recharge, and people do not move into the
technology, this could well be another missed opportunity.
