ELECTRIC DREAMS
EVAP holds 6th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit at SMX
DEALING with climate change and air pollution is a complicated undertaking. But there’s a way to un-complicate things and get everything started:
Electrify everything: Replace technologies that still run on combustion like gasolineand diesel-fed vehicles with alternatives that run on electricity. Use clean energy sources to run power plants that supply electricity grids.
Then get as much of our energy consumption as possible hooked up to the power grid.
The need to quickly electrify the country’s transport industry is well understood in the 6th staging of the Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit happening at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City from July 10 to 11.
This year’s theme is “Stepping Up Partnerships To Electrify Public and Private Transport.”
“We can no longer ignore the fact that electric vehicles are here to stay and are set to grow even more. According to the latest report of global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, global electric car sales totaled 1 million for the first time in 2017–reaching 1.2 million units—with battery electric vehicles making up the majority of sales. In 2018, global electric car sales will reach 1.6 million units, and the number of public charging stations will reach 100,000. There are now 3.3 million electric cars in use around the world. China and Europe together make up about 75% of the global EV market,” announces Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) President and spokesperson Rommel T. Juan.
He adds that the two-day event will seek to built partnerships, aligning objectives, and taking collective action to facilitate further adoption of electric vehicles in the country.
Momentum
“Here in the Philippines, there is now a continuing momentum for electric vehicle sales driven by the many ongoing public and private initiatives.
Juan cites that the recently enacted Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law exempting electric vehicles from the excise tax will help a lot.
“Thanks in part to EV stake- holders’ representation with Congress, the TRAIN law should pave the way for more affordable EV models and increased investments in supporting infrastructure which will help sustain the momentum for electric mobility,” says Juan.
Full swing
According to Juan the Department of Transportation’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) is in full swing, targeting to upgrade some 200,000 public utility jeepneys (PUJs) during the next six years, about 10 percent of which will be electric.
Helping make this happen is the Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC).
“In support of this Program, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments are putting in place an Eco-PUV Program to provide the vehicle solution to the PUVMP by giving incentives to both electric platform suppliers and body builders,” says Juan.
It should be noted that the Landbank and Development Bank of the Philippines now have loans available for the modern PUV. On the other hand, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is working on a technical regulation that would allow it to offer EV maintenance, servicing and repairs in all TESDA learning centers nationwide which will help facilitate EV sales outside of Metro Manila.
Juan explains that the Bureau of Philippine Standards is busy formulating the standards that would cover the modern PUV powered by either Euro 4 internal combustion engines or more preferably, electric motors.
The standards for Modern PUV Class 2 and 3 have been approved while in the works are those for Class 1 and 4. Some 50 standards will also be crafted for the specifications, performance and testing of EV parts and components, Juan shares.
Private sectors
“In the private sector front, Nissan Philippines, Inc., Mit- subishi Motors Philippines Corp., Hyundai, BYD and Minghong Vehicles are bringing in their electric cars and SUVs. Star 8 has been very busy selling electric jeepneys to the LGUs nationwide while BEMAC continues to promote its electric tricycles and Softbank EVs. QEV Inc. now has an EV powertrain for the modern PUJ while Unioil and CharIn!are bringing in battery charging technology. DOE, Meralco, QEV and Unioil have been busy setting up the most important EV infrastructure in place, battery charging and swapping stations in strategic locations. Beep has its automat- ed fare collection system while Infineon Technology has the modern gadgets available,” Juan enumerates. For his part, Meralco VP Raymond Ravelo pointed to positive developments which transpired since the Philippines’ hosting of the pioneering ASean Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Summit. “In addition, not a few local government units are crafting their own transport modernization programs—including EV charging pods, cashless payment options, GPS systems, among others—in efforts to secure electric tricycles from the DOE. Even Clark Development Corporation (CDC) is developing a master plan that incorporates sustainable mobility within and outside its environment-friendly community,” says Ravelo. He adds that when it comes to the charging infrastructure front, the Department of Energy and Natural Resources as well as the DTI have inaugurated fast charging stations in their offices in Quezon City, Makati, and Davao, in partnership with Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
“Additionally, Unioil Philippines launched and opened two charging stations in their EDSAGuadalupe and Congressional Avenue locations, thereby paving the way for more petrol stations to co-locate EV chargers alongside regular fuel pumps. Finally, there are numerous other private sector initiatives focused either on launching their EV programs or expanding ‘green fleets’ within the next few months,” reports Ravelo.
Meralco commitment
Ravelo says Meralco showed its commitment and full support for the industry as it is fulfilling its role in energizing and providing the electrical infrastructure and transformer upgrades needed by the EV fast charging stations, while also extending our charging station installation expertise. We are moving ahead on discussions with potential partners on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies.
“This is the next game changer for the EV and electric industry as a whole as it will assist in the economics of owning an electric vehicle, while at the same time providing a steadying effect to the supply and power quality of the distribution grid,” says Ravelo.