It has been a long-standing concern, especially for those who own vehicles whenever there are price hikes in fuel. So, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) plans to invest more in e-mobility transportation projects.
The Department of Energy has previously announced its goal to roll out e-trike units, so DOST foresaw the need for S&T to mediate factors such as electric vehicle charging needs, low-cost materials, and production for the units, battery parts among others.
DOST offers to invest over Php321 million in e-transportation related projects to combat concerns such as rising fuel prices and pollution caused by vehicles.
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A virtual press conference allowed the said agency to enumerate 16 initiatives as part of this project. These are the following projects.
1. E-Mobility R&D Center — country’s first e-trike center to be established in Cagayan.
2. Intelligent Electric Transportation Systems — DOST’s efforts to manufacture e-vehicles using locally available materials and by Filipino engineers.
3. Charging in Minutes (CharM) — attempts to reduce the time it takes to charge e-vehicles; this project aims for e-vehicles to fully charge under 30 minutes.
4. 23-seater Electric Jeepney (E-Jeepney) — designed for both logistics and passenger transport.
5. Safe and efficient solar-assisted, plug-in electric boat.
6. Plans for a modular stator, segmented rotor switched reluctance motor.
7. Assembling of aluminum-air reactor battery.
8. NICER R&D Center for Advanced Batteries — this center will also collaborate with universities to establish strong R&D capabilities in the area.
9. NextGen: Advanced Cathode Materials for Next-Generation Batteries
Enrico Paringit, executive director of the DOST’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) also says that electric vehicle batteries have fewer moving parts, hence they are less expensive.
He also encourages the public to support the research and development of these projects. After all, the future of e-transportation in the Philippines is rife with potential and various possibilities.