Solar Powered Electric Bicycles
Volume: 1 Issue 7 |  Friday, 25 June 2010 |   |  0 comment

Both China and Japan provide excellent examples of seamless integration of the concept of sustainability into their transport systems. In China there are an estimated 120 million electric bicycles on the roads – which makes them the top alternative to cars and public transport. Electric bicycles provide an environmentally friendly form of public transport that is appealing to commuters.

Manufacturer Shi Zhongdong, whose company also exports electric bikes to Asia and Europe, says, “This is the future - it's practical, it's clean and it's economical." China is the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gasses and innovations such as these are key in transforming their environmental impact. The electric bicycles have a smaller carbon footprint than cars do and so are moving in the right direction of transforming personal transport in the country.

As with all forms of transport there is are two opposing ideals – that of keeping the manufacturing prices of the bicycles down and still maintaining the quality that lends itself to being sustainable. There have been concerns surrounding the cheaper lead batteries and the optimal choice would be to switch to the more expensive lithium-ion battery technology. This is a dilemma that arises constantly in the manufacture of environmentally sustainable products.

There are over 1000 companies currently manufacturing electric bicycles in China. Some electric bicycles can last up to 50 kilometres on a single battery charge with the others reaching a top speed of 35 kilometres an hour. The battery charges are plugged into normal household sockets making it easy for people to charge their bicycles.

In 2009 authorities tried to re-impose a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour on electric bicycle riders along with an implementation of license rules. However the plan to do this caused such public and industry uproar that it was suspended. The current system as it stands requires no driver’s license or number plate making it an extremely accessible form of transport for people to make use of.

The Asian Development Bank said last year that electric bicycles could become “perhaps the most environmentally sustainable motorised mode available” in China. It did however, call for the replacement of lead acid batteries and better regulations.

In keeping with the electric bicycles theme, the Japanese company Sanyo had opened two ‘solar parking lots’ in Tokyo where 100 electric hybrid bicycles can be recharged. The system makes use of lithium-ion batteries to charge bicycles produced by the company with the leftover power being used to light the parking lot with LED lights at night.

This innovative concept is a "completely independent and clean system eliminating the use of fossil fuels", said Sanyo Electric Co. The parking lots are set up near to the train lines in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward making them convenient for commuters to use. The system apparently works on rainy days and the charging points rely on rooftop photovoltaic panels. The bicycles produced by Sanyo feature a "dynamotor" built into the hub of the front wheel, which charges a battery when the bicycle is cruising downhill or a rider is braking.

The electric motor kicks in when a rider peddles, which increases the speed of the bicycle and makes pedaling easier. There is also a power boost mode for particularly steep climbs.

While these ventures are not without their own environmental issues they are considerably more sustainable than cars. It is interesting to see the steps that other, more industrialised, nations are taking to ease the pressure on both traffic congestion and the impact on the environment.