BY NOEL FOO

SQC terminals connect to an interface located on the top of the bus and it takes only 10 minutes to fully charge the buses batteries, allowing them to run for up to 30km.

PUTRAJAYA will be the pioneer city to test a revolutionary new technology for electric vehicle (EV) buses that will allow the vehicles to fully charge their batteries in only 10 minutes.

This is a tremendous difference from the technology currently used in electric vehicles, where batteries must be left to charge overnight to be fully charged.

This pilot project, dubbed the “Putra NEDO EV Bus Project”, is the result of a collaboration between Putrajaya Corporation (PPj) and Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO).

Federal Territories Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Adnan Md Ikshan was present to officially launch the project at Putrajaya Sentral.

“We hope the operation of EV buses eventually results in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector in the city.”

NEDO executive director Makoto Watanabe said that this was the first ever demonstrative operation of Super Quick Charge (SQC) Large EV Buses in a city, worldwide.

Representing the Japanese Consortium of corporate partners involved in the project, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems and Solutions Corporation director and corporate vice-president Isao Aoki said some of the technology supporting this project was not even deployed in Japan yet.

“It is necessary to promote effective measures with a strong top-down policy to realise a green city, and I hope that Putrajaya can become the first model city in the world with zero-emission buses,” he said.

PPj president Datuk Seri Hasim Ismail said Putrajaya has eight of these single-decker buses, which began commercial operations in June, servicing two 23km routes in Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.

Hasim said they would add another two single-decker buses to the fleet by the end of the year, with an additional two double-decker buses sometime next year to be used mainly for tourism purposes.

The buses can run for up to 30km on a full charge before requiring to stop at an SQC terminal to recharge.

Three SQC terminals are located in Putrajaya Sentral with one more at the Bus Depot in Precinct 14.

While the technology for the battery is imported from Japan, the bus is manufactured, maintained and managed locally.