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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Great British inventing praised
August 26, 2009 7:38 PM
• KINGSTON University has been congratulated by Richmond Council for revving up its contribution to improving the environment, after racing its first ever electric bike in the Isle of Man's green TT race.
The Council, through the South and West London Transport Conference has sponsored the bike, which can reach speeds of over 70 mph on the race track. This week, Cllr David Trigg, Cabinet Member for Traffic, Transport and Parking, met the head of the team which designed it, to learn how it works and what its existence means for the future of environmentally friendly travel.
Cllr Trigg said: "It's great to see the future of British inventing is alive and well at our local university and in a part of London where the environmental agenda is so important. I'm very pleased Richmond Council, through its leading role in Sweltrac, can support innovation like this, which is leading the way towards the future of environmentally friendly forms of transport."
The bike has been designed by students at the university, under the guidance of senior lecturer Paul Brennan and uses the latest engineering skills to make racing a battery powered bike a realistic and environmentally-friendly option. The bike can be charged at both of Richmond Council's electric vehicle charging points and produces no CO2 emissions. It can be charged in under an hour thanks to super strength 36 amp set up.
The team has overcome a number of challenges in developing the bike - Cllr Trigg heard how the battery-based energy management system had to be fine tuned and has now produced results which are very close to petrol or diesel powered vehicles.
The Kingston team are now starting work on a road-ready version, which could be on the streets within a year and which could be charged by a standard three pin plug.
Mr Brennan said: "Without the sponsors this project would be nowhere so it's very important that we have the help they've given us, I'm very grateful to the Council and Sweltrac, it's good to work together and I'm sure we'll see the environmental benefits."
The Richmond upon Thames electric car recharging points are at the Old Deer Park and Cedar Road Car parks.
Sweltrac is a proactive transport partnership covering South and West London and consisting of 12 local authorities, bus and train operators, transport authorities and passenger and business interests. Sweltrac works with Transport for London to implement measures to enhance public transport interchanges and improve accessibility to town centres and business and residential areas.
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