Technophile finds battery success
July 30, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SHANGHAI Dianba New Energy Technology Ltd, a privately owned company in Minhang, won widespread praise and attention for the fast-charging electric bus batteries it supplied to the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
Company President Zhang Jianping said the recognition was a long 10 years in the making.
In 2000, the idea of figuring out a way to prolong the operational hours of electric buses flashed through the mind of technophile Zhang. He bought an electric car and started doing research and development of its parts.
"At that time, few people thought much of electric vehicles because there was no fast-charging system to make them feasible," Zhang said.
In 2003, Zhang and his team applied for the patent on a fast-charging battery but were rejected. The fledgling company came to the brink of closure because of lack of funds.
It was a difficult period for Zhang. He knew setting up his own business wouldn't be easy, but he found it was hard to talk about all the problems he faced. Fortunately for him, he had friends who were quick to understand his dilemma and loaned him money to keep up his work.
In 2008, when the Beijing Olympics was promoting the concept of a green and high-tech Olympics, Zhang thought that his opportunity had arrived. He submitted his battery-charging ideas and found that Games organizers were willing to listen.
Fifty electric buses using his batteries ran 130,000 kilometers throughout the Olympics. Company staff changed batteries about 2,000 times during the event with almost no glitches or breakdowns.
Once the Games were over, Zhang found orders for his battery-charging system trailed off. So he turned his attention to the World Expo Shanghai as his next opportunity.
Again he found a receptive audience.
By that time, he had taken out 20 patents on the technology. Four fast-charging battery stations were built at the Expo site. Batteries for 120 electric buses were changed nearly 60,000 times during the six-month event. The buses ran for about 4 million kilometers.
The company's charging and intelligent monitoring technology helped buses survive the test of huge visitor flows and hot summer weather.
It takes hours for an electric bus to charge up, but it takes only three to five minutes to change a battery, Zhang said.
The charging station is like an energy storage powerhouse, he added.
Company President Zhang Jianping said the recognition was a long 10 years in the making.
In 2000, the idea of figuring out a way to prolong the operational hours of electric buses flashed through the mind of technophile Zhang. He bought an electric car and started doing research and development of its parts.
"At that time, few people thought much of electric vehicles because there was no fast-charging system to make them feasible," Zhang said.
In 2003, Zhang and his team applied for the patent on a fast-charging battery but were rejected. The fledgling company came to the brink of closure because of lack of funds.
It was a difficult period for Zhang. He knew setting up his own business wouldn't be easy, but he found it was hard to talk about all the problems he faced. Fortunately for him, he had friends who were quick to understand his dilemma and loaned him money to keep up his work.
In 2008, when the Beijing Olympics was promoting the concept of a green and high-tech Olympics, Zhang thought that his opportunity had arrived. He submitted his battery-charging ideas and found that Games organizers were willing to listen.
Fifty electric buses using his batteries ran 130,000 kilometers throughout the Olympics. Company staff changed batteries about 2,000 times during the event with almost no glitches or breakdowns.
Once the Games were over, Zhang found orders for his battery-charging system trailed off. So he turned his attention to the World Expo Shanghai as his next opportunity.
Again he found a receptive audience.
By that time, he had taken out 20 patents on the technology. Four fast-charging battery stations were built at the Expo site. Batteries for 120 electric buses were changed nearly 60,000 times during the six-month event. The buses ran for about 4 million kilometers.
The company's charging and intelligent monitoring technology helped buses survive the test of huge visitor flows and hot summer weather.
It takes hours for an electric bus to charge up, but it takes only three to five minutes to change a battery, Zhang said.
The charging station is like an energy storage powerhouse, he added.
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