Professor Harry Holster, Principal Investigator of TUM Create, kicks off the panel discussion at the Electromobility roundtable, hosted by ERI@N at SIEW 2014.
Mr Steve Hedouin, General Manager of Volvo Bus East Asia, shares his insights on electric buses while speaking at the Electromobility roundtable.
By Karyn Goh
Demand for electric cars has risen steeply as consumers and governments look for environmentally friendly options but more charging stations in convenient locations and deeper collaboration between large and small companies are needed to drive widespread popularity of the vehicles, panellists said on Thursday at Singapore International Energy Week 2014.
Ownership of electric vehicles will become more attractive, they said, only when a dense network of charging stations is set up to replenish the batteries in 20 minutes or less – a far faster time than what is now available.
Didier Marginedes of BlueSolutions, a French maker of batteries for electric vehicles, highlighted the success a car-sharing programme in Paris that it supplies and promotes.
“The majority of customers who previously owned two cars have dropped the second car due to the convenience and affordability of the car-sharing system,” said Marginedes, the company’s vice chairman. “We have launched an application that allows our customers to locate the nearest (charging) station from wherever they are.”
Lim Say Leong, assistant vice president of marketing at ABB in Singapore, said collaboration between multinational corporations and smaller companies – including petrol stations and car grooming centres – can promote the use of electric vehicles.
With greater assistance from the government, Singapore could expand the electric vehicle market and follow the example of cities such as London that have put electric buses into service, said Steve Hedouin, general manager of Volvo Bus East Asia.
Switching to electric buses will cut pollution significantly, said Harry Hoster, the principal investigator for electrochemistry and new materials at the TUM CREATE Centre for Electromobility in Singapore.
About Singapore International Energy Week (www.siew.gov.sg)
The 7th annual SIEW 2014 is the foremost platform for top policymakers, energy practitioners and commentators to discuss energy issues, strategies and solutions. SIEW brings together a robust line-up of world's leading conferences, exhibitions, roundtables and networking events to provide insights and perspectives on the emerging trends and innovations across the energy spectrum of oil & gas, clean and renewable energy, and energy infrastructure financing – in one week, one location. Please visit www.siew.gov.sg for further information.