Taiwan’s credentials as a nation that practices what it preaches when it comes to caring for the environment were on show for the world to see during the recently concluded Taipei International Flora Exposition. For local automaker Luxgen Motors, the event also served as first-class platform to display an innovative range of electric vehicles based on its popular SUV model.
According to the expo organizer, more than 130,000 passengers fastened their seatbelts on these EVs during the exhibition and experienced the quiet and smooth ride. The popularity of these vehicles reaffirms the Taiwan government’s drive to build on this experience through bolstering the market for EVs, including cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles.
“The Cabinet has decided to invest NT$9.7 billion (US$337.98 million) to promote the industry over the next six years,” said Woody T.J. Duh, director-general of the Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
“In the first three years, we expect to implement 10 pilot plans bringing 3,000 electric cars and 160,000 electric motorbikes to the road,” he added.
To promote EVs, these pioneering plans will lease out 100 units across Greater Taipei for use by tourists, another 100 in central Taiwan’s Taichung City for shuttle buses or official government cars, and still another 300 in the Southern Taiwan Science Park for public transportation, according to Duh.
“Set to begin in the third quarter of 2011, these pilot programs will operate under different business models,” Duh said. “People in the industry are upbeat over the potential benefits.”
The government is also giving tax credits for the purchase of EVs. According to the revised Commodity Tax Act, which passed the Legislature in late January, the commodity tax on such vehicles will be waived for the next three years. Another law gives local governments the right to cancel licensing taxes on EVs.
Critics point out, however, that the real challenge lies not so much in government support as in consumer confidence in battery safety and mileage. With current technology, a typical electric motorcycle can run 30 to 40 kilometers per charge, and e-cars 150 to 200 kilometers, according to Stephen Teng, deputy director of the Intelligent Electric Vehicle Promoting Office.
“But gasoline-powered vehicles, in comparison, can travel any distance as long as they can get refueled,” Teng said.
Therefore the MOEA is working on several scientific research programs with Industrial Technology Research Institute, concentrating their efforts to enhance battery endurance and safety for plug-in cars.
Pan Jing-pin, director of ITRI’s Energy Storage Materials and Technology Division, said, “Today most EVs are equipped with lithium batteries because they are the lightest, and of all alkali metals, lithium has the highest energy density.
“But their high reactivity and flammability when charged excessively or superheated make them potentially quite dangerous.”
To solve this problem, Pan’s team spent several years developing a nano-grade polymer to be used on lithium batteries as a layer of protection. Pan explained that the new material, called STOBA, generates a locking effect that interrupts electrical and chemical reactions and prevents shorting and explosions at high temperatures.
This safety mechanism has now been perfected, and this year his team is transferring STOBA technology to the industry, Pan said.
As more innovations come out, the operation of EVs will become more reliable, increasing their viability as green vehicles, which Taiwan could make good use of. According to the Environmental Protection Administration, the number of compacts and sedans in Taiwan reached 5.8 million as of May 2011, while motorbikes totaled 14.96 million.
“The exhaust emissions from these traditional motor vehicles are a serious issue,” said Hu Ming-hui, chief of the EPA’s Department of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control. “EVs, by contrast, give off zero exhaust.”
Hu said the EPA has plans to build 30 battery exchange stations for electric scooters in New Taipei City and another 30 in Kaohsiung City by the end of this year.
“We are beginning with motorbikes because car batteries are harder to standardize into rechargeable packs, and major carmakers have yet to agree upon which type of battery to bring into circulation,” he explained.
From the perspective of environmental protection, motorcycles emit more air pollutants such as sulfer dioxide, lead and particulate matter than other types of vehicles and thus are the priority problem that the authority should deal with, Hu added.
To this end, the EPA announced two sets of regulations on June 14, one offering subsidy up to NT$45 million for battery swap station operator and the other giving allowance of NT$10,000 for any electric motorcyclist using removable lithium batteries. In the first stage, 5,000 users are expected to benefit from the measure. In the second phase, the EPA looks to expand the network of charging stations and attain the goal of supplying 160,000 e-scooters with this power system across the country.
“Taiwan should take full advantage of this opportunity,” Duh said, “not just because vehicles supported by renewable electricity are a global trend, but because machinery and electronics are what Taiwan is good at.”
He pointed out that engine manufacturers such as Fukuta Elec. & Mach. Co. Ltd. and Chroma ATE Inc. are already suppliers for California-based Tesla Roadsters, the first all-electric cars ever mass-produced.
“Besides,” Duh added, “Taiwan is famous for information communications technology, putting it in a special position to develop the global market.”
By way of example, Luxgen’s latest EV model, the Neora, features several state-of-the-art ICT functions, such as a glass sunroof controlled via an electric system and an LED infotainment screen for the rear seat.
To secure a place in the world market, however, Taiwan needs to move fast. According to Duh, in 2010 the U.S. Department of Energy invested US$25 billion on the promotion of green automotives, while mainland China spent 7.5 billion yuan (US$1.16 billion) from 2006 to 2010 and will pour in another 100 billion yuan over the next decade.
So while electric vehicles now account for less than 1 percent of the market in Taiwan and most other countries, the time to move is now. “Some critics say we have invested too much too quickly, as the outlook for EVs is still unclear,” Duh said. “But if we don’t get into the race now, we’ll be left in the dust later.”
