The automobile, which consists of a solar-powered freezer system and has a automobile related to energy storage and sharing expertise, will solely want six months to start out paying for itself as a result of the tag- truck homeowners keep away from giant gasoline payments, mentioned Eric Mak, CEO of Sunlight Eco-tech, a sponsor of the challenge and provider of photo voltaic panels for the truck.
“We hope to roll-out the primary automobile on the market in about 4 months,” Mak mentioned on the launch occasion. “We additionally plan to promote 1,000 models in Hong Kong in three years. We will even introduce our solar-powered freezer truck to the Australian market.”
The challenge is geared toward selling the change from conventional fuel-driven freezer programs to sensible electric-driven programs, in addition to strengthening the broader adoption of photo voltaic power. The challenge acquired greater than HK$4.9 million in funding from the federal government’s Innovation and Technology Fund in June, in response to the fund’s web site.
Hong Kong Science Park-based Sunlight Eco-tech, Australian firm Advanced Sunlight, and Hong Kong’s division {of electrical} and mechanical providers are co-sponsors of the challenge, in response to the web site.
Currently, there are about 5,000 freezer vans in Hong Kong, and this quantity is predicted to double within the subsequent few years, mentioned PolyU’s Cheng, who additionally led the challenge’s analysis workforce.
These automobiles are all powered by gasoline engines, which emit giant quantities of exhaust gasoline and noise, he added.
A gasoline-powered truck consumes one to 3 liters of diesel per hour on common, emitting 2.7 to eight.1kg of carbon dioxide, leading to annual emissions of round 16 tons of carbon, in response to calculations from PolyU. To offset these carbon emissions, about 760 timber would have to be planted, Cheng mentioned, highlighting the magnitude of air pollution brought on by standard vans.
Eight photo voltaic photovoltaic (PV) panels are mounted on the roof of the freezer truck with the capability to supply 2.5 kilowatt hours of electrical energy, which will be prolonged to extend the truck’s energy output to enhance its power effectivity. The truck can also be outfitted with an power storage system that captures and shops the generated electrical energy, offering extra power for the car’s freezer system.
It additionally has a lithium-ion battery that may be charged utilizing customary electrical car charging amenities. When the photo voltaic power storage is loaded and the battery is absolutely charged, the freezer system will be powered for as much as 4 hours. The freezer truck may also connect with different automobiles for charging and power sharing.
The on board refrigeration system can preserve a temperature beneath -45 levels Celsius, and might proceed to function even after the electrical engine is turned off, successfully turning the car right into a cellular freezer unit. This function will even assist resolve the scarcity of freezer warehouses in Hong Kong, PolyU’s Cheng mentioned.
