lifestyle

Sunny future - Ehime’s efforts to develop green technology

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By Rod Walters for EURObiZ Japan

Located in Shikoku, facing Japan’s inland sea, Ehime Prefecture has a tradition of technological innovation. The area is also known for its mild climate.

Delicious mikan citrus fruit thrives in the sunny Mediterranean conditions. And, with a hollowing out of the area’s farming industry in recent years, that same sun may provide the key to Ehime’s future.

Solar technology is now a regional priority, as are electric vehicles and, as a result — on any given day — you might find Mikyan, the prefecture’s mascot character, squeezing himself into a citrus-coloured electric car.

To develop true energy self-sufficiency, an infrastructure must be put in place. With the national government’s recent emphasis on regional autonomy, Ehime seized on the opportunity to develop a local electric vehicle (EV) industry.

The 2010 Ehime Prefecture Economic Growth Strategy spelled out support for the development of technologies, products and services, and sales channels for EVs. The aim is to establish Ehime as Japan’s leading centre for the industry — in advance of the anticipated rush to electric mobility. In October 2010, the Ehime EV Promoters Association held its inaugural meeting in Matsuyama as the first step toward implementing the strategy.

The EV movement in Ehime is a very grassroots endeavour, represented by the concept of “Small Hundreds” put forward by the University of Tokyo’s Yoshihisa Murasawa, who addressed the first meeting of the association. Small Hundreds stands in opposition to the Big Three of the US auto industry (GM, Ford and Chrysler). Instead of a few large corporations slowly moving to introduce EVs as fully commercialised products, hundreds of small organisations will convert the existing vehicle fleet to electric use, starting now. In doing so, they will build an ecosystem of local engineering companies with expertise in creating custom EV parts.

While this may seem like a recipe for inefficiency and duplicated effort, it’s based on sound thinking. Although EV typically calls to mind ”electric car”, vehicles are only one part of the picture. As an agricultural and maritime region, Ehime has a huge inventory of farming equipment, as well as fishing and ferry fleets — all of which are powered by fossil fuels. Besides the pollution that oil causes, it’s also a drain on the economy. Electric fishing boats developed in Uwajima are estimated to cut fuel costs by about 80%. Ehime’s EV project also aims to convert local tractors, rice planting machines, and coastal shipping to clean electric.

Conditions on Shikoku mirror the situation in many developing countries. And when the time comes when they want to wean themselves off fossil fuels, Shikoku’s flexible methods will be ready for deployment. That represents another benefit — a chance to export Ehime’s homegrown technology.

A Daihatsu petrol two-seat convertible is the first local vehicle converted to electric technology. Kazunobu Saito, director of the Ehime EV Development Centre and visiting professor at Ehime University, oversaw the conversion. Since then the centre has converted several other vehicles and developed electric scooters. Working with Ehime University and local companies — with funding from the central government’s Environment Ministry — the centre has also developed an electric tractor, a sweet-potato planting machine, and a system for controlling electric supply and demand.

“Big manufacturers brought commercial cars and light tractors to market faster than we expected,” says Sato. “And with the eco-car subsidy, prices are quite low. So now we’re providing support for businesses that are developing special vehicles and associated parts. For example, companies are doing electric conversions of four-tonne trucks used by transport contractors — an area that the big manufacturers have yet to enter.”

“We see potential for growth in this area,” he adds.

Ehime’s EVs are now beginning to play a role in tourism, too. In a pilot project last year, a variety of electric bikes and buggies were made available to tourists in Dogo for free. And this summer the Shikoku EV Rally was held around the islands of Kamijima as part of a Setouchi Shimanowa tourism promotion event.

The sun shines on Shikoku island and Ehime prefecture, growing the region’s famous fruit. It also points the way to a brighter energy future with solar energy and electric cars.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


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No mentions of cost, range, and power of these EV conversions...

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Well, I would expect someone in Japan to put much more effort into further serious development into EVs. Nissan has a fully functional EV. Tesla is top of the list still so far, and Ford put in a rather forced 'murican "effort" to satisfy the feds... Chevy's Volt still uses gas cos they couldn't figure out which way to go when developing their hybrid... Toyota's Prius series is still going strong, but I still want to see a 100% gas free car.

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