Novel good solar-powered freezer truck unveiled in Hong Kong

The transportation sector is a big contributor to Hong Kong’s greenhouse gasoline emissions, accounting for 19% of complete emissions. Supporting the event of inexperienced transportation will assist scale back air pollutant emissions. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is dedicated to selling analysis in inexperienced applied sciences to help Hong Kong’s purpose of lowering the City’s complete carbon emissions from 2005 ranges by half earlier than 2035 and reaching to carbon neutrality earlier than 2050.

A analysis group led by Prof. Eric Cheng, Professor of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at PolyU, acquired help from the “Innovation and Technology Support Program (Mid-stream, theme-based)” in June for the analysis mission “Smart Refrigeration Truck Development Program—Power , Solar and Intelligence Method for Logistics and Storage.” The mission is geared toward selling the transformation of freezer vehicles from conventional gasoline pushed freezer programs to good electrical pushed ones and strengthening the broader adoption of photo voltaic power.

After one 12 months, the PolyU group efficiently developed a novel freezer truck that helps a solar-powered freezer system and exhibits the car linked to energy storage and sharing know-how. The mission has acquired robust help from authorities, academia and business, together with from Sunlight Eco-tech Limited, Advanced Sunlight Pty Limited from Australia, and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department.

Currently, there are roughly 5,000 freezer vehicles in Hong Kong, and this quantity is predicted to double within the subsequent few years. These automobiles are all powered by gasoline engines, which produce massive quantities of exhaust gasoline and noise when working or idling.

The know-how utilized in standard freezer vehicles is sort of outdated, with the freezer system counting on the car’s inner combustion engine for energy. Even when the automobile is stopped, so as to proceed the operation of the freezer system the engine doesn’t flip off.

In addition, the temperature of the freezer system is normally maintained at about -20 levels Celsius, which limits the kinds of meals that may be refrigerated. If every car consumes one to a few liters of diesel per hour, it produces 2.7 to eight.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide, leading to annual emissions of roughly 16 tons. To offset these carbon emissions, about 760 bushes would have to be planted.

The clever solar-powered freezer truck developed by PolyU offers versatile power enter choices. Key highlights are as follows:

Extensible photo voltaic photovoltaic (PV) panels: Installed on the roof, these PV panels might be added to extend the truck’s energy output, enhancing power effectivity. The truck is provided with an power storage system that captures and shops the power generated, offering further power for the car’s freezer system.

Onboard lithium-ion battery: In addition to photo voltaic power storage, the truck additionally has an onboard lithium-ion battery that may be linked to an ordinary electrical car charging facility for recharging. When the photo voltaic power storage is full, and the battery is absolutely charged, they will function the freezer system for as much as 4 hours. Users even have the choice to develop the quantity and capability of the batteries to extend the operation time if vital.

Powerful and versatile freezer system: The onboard refrigeration system can preserve temperatures beneath -45 levels Celsius. In addition, it could proceed to function even after the electrical engine is turned off, successfully reworking the car right into a cellular freezer unit. This will assist remedy the scarcity of freezer warehouses in Hong Kong.

In addition, the freezer truck can join with different automobiles of the identical sort for charging and power sharing. With the car’s clever power administration system, customers can’t solely monitor and management the utmost output energy of PV panels to enhance the effectivity of assorted power sources, but additionally optimize efficiency within the freezer, and prolong the lifetime of the onboard battery.

Prof. Eric Cheng mentioned, “The HKSAR authorities has carried out a number of insurance policies lately to advertise the recognition of electrical automobiles, together with setting a goal to cease new registrations of gasoline-powered non-public automobiles by 2035 or earlier.However, for cargo automobiles, the speed of adoption of latest power automobiles is comparatively gradual.

“We want for this analysis mission to play a number one function in encouraging the transport sector to undertake inexperienced applied sciences extra rapidly and contribute extra to lowering emissions and reaching carbon neutrality .”

The PolyU good solar-powered freezer truck is prepared for commercialization, with the expectation that related automobiles might be launched within the close to future.