News Update DOE launches e-tricycle design contest

In a bid to encourage Filipino innovation and ingenuity in creating the Philippine version of the green vehicle, the Department of Energy has launched a contest to design an electric tricycle (e-trike). With the theme “Bright Now! Do Right. Be Bright. Go E-trike!” the contest is open to Filipinos aged 18 and above, whether as individuals or groups. "Contestant/s must generate 2D and 3D computer-aided drawings of the best aesthetic and functional design for the prospect Philippine E-trike look (AutoCAD). Entries should feature a design that can accommodate a maximum of six passengers excluding the driver," the DOE said in a news release posted on the Official Gazette website. It added the design must be a three-wheeled electric vehicle. “We want a design that can be used here in the city, and at the same time it can also be used by people in the provinces,” DOE Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said. Almendras said the electric tricycles can be promoted as a “rural electric vehicle” or “RUV” since some provinces only have tricycles as their mode of transportation. The electric tricycle program is a partnership between the DOE and the Asian Development Bank as part of their National Electric Vehicle Strategy. While the strategy is being developed, DOE will start introducing e-tricycles, e-jeepneys, e-buses, and e-cars with the help of local entrepreneurs and technical experts. The DOE is currently developing a sustainable model for introducing electric tricycles. From tricycles to small electric cars The DOE envisions the promotion of e-tricycles will eventually translate to the development of local capabilities to design and maintain small-sized electric cars. Almendras said a couple of car manufacturers have already expressed interest in setting up local manufacturing facilities that will lead to the creation of more jobs and a dynamic market for locally assembled units for export to the ASEAN region in the future. Meanwhile, a parallel program is the DOE’s Fueling Sustainable Transport Program (FSTP) which seeks to convert public and private vehicles from diesel and gasoline to compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electric power. "With this program, the government hopes to reduce the carbon footprint of local road transport and cut 30 percent of the number of gasoline and diesel-fed transport vehicles in the country by 2020," the DOE said. — TJD