Electric vehicle (for Broom Broom Page 11) copy copy

PATULOY ang pagdami ng nangangailangan ng baterya para sa electric vehicle na ngayo’y patok na sa iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan sa bansa.

Ito ang inihayag ni Rommel Juan, pangulo ng Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP), kasunod ng pagsigla ng electric vehicle industry sa bansa.

“For deep cycle lead acid batteries, we already have our world-class Motolite batteries which are proudly Philippine-made. Trojan batteries from the USA are also very much active in the Philippines already. But for lithium ion batteries which are now increasingly gaining popularity among local electric vehicle players, there is still no major supplier, much more manufacturer, who has come in. We badly need a major lithium ion battery provider to set up shop and even do local assembly in the Philippines,” pahayag ni Juan.

TINGNAN: Listahan ng mga nag-file sa pagkasenador at party-list sa huling araw

Aniya, bukas ang EVAP sa posibleng pakikipagtulungan sa mga battery maker upang mapunan ang lumalaking demand sa baterya ng mga electric vehicle.

“We are actively pushing for the adoption of electric vehicles for public transport vehicles application such as EVs to replace the smoke-belching jeepneys and the tricycles. We are also the primary group actively pushing for the passing of the Alternative Fuel Vehicle bill into law to provide us with both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives,” dagdag niya.

Tiniyak din ni Juan na handa ang sektor ng electric vehicle makers na punan ang pangangailangan sa transportasyon sakaling maipatupad na ang old jeepney phase-out policy ng gobyerno.

Sinabi rin ng EVAP president na malaki na ang improvement ng mga superior lithium ion battery na gawa sa Pilipinas dahil ito ay mas matibay, praktikal gamitin, at abot-kaya.

“These batteries are the cornerstone of one of the most important EV infrastructure, the battery charging and swapping stations. We need these to make EV fleet operations more viable,” dagdag niya. (ARIS R. ILAGAN)