Automakers move into an era of green cars

M. Ihsan Darius, Contributor, Jakarta

As market demands continue to change, players in the automotive industry must adapt to the changing situation. Vehicle designers continue to innovate. New technologies continue to be developed.

Today, an awareness of the significance of protecting the environment has permeated the world. As they do not want to be responsible for environmental pollution, car manufacturers are seizing the opportunity to apply green technologies. As a result, we can see the emergence of environmentally friendly automobiles of various types and designs, ranging from the simple to the sophisticated.

A demonstration of some of these green technologies could be seen at the Gaikindo Auto Expo 2005 held in Jakarta recently. Being green in automotive technology is an inevitability, given the prevailing trends in the automotive world. Take for example Mercedes-Benz, which featured its A-Class Fuel Cell, or Toyota, which introduced its Fine-S and Prius cut engine. A breakthrough in green technology was a common trend in the expo arena. Some of these technologies were there only to attract car lovers, as it is still a long way before they can be applied in Indonesia. Others have been adopted for new automobiles that will soon be launched here.

According to the chairman of Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo), Bambang Trisulo, two issues -- the environment and future energy sources -- are indeed a hot topic of discussion in the world's automotive industries. Advanced countries in Europe, the United States, Japan and Korea have are pushing the creation of these green technologies.

"An awareness has now begun to develop in Asia that the use of environmentally friendly energy is a necessity despite the constraints in terms of regulation and implementation," he noted.

The key to the application of green technologies is efficient automotive competition. As the supply of oil thins, most car manufacturers are devoting attention to the use of alternative energy. In fact, in the 1980s, automotive industry principals in developed countries began to eye electricity as a source of power to drive the engine. Unfortunately, high production costs remains a constraint in this sector.

Hence, some cars feature a combination of a conventional engine and an electric engine. These two sources of power work together to drive the car until it can reach quite a high level of efficiency. Other hybrid automobiles use fuel cells.

Today, most car manufacturers, particularly in Japan, have mass produced these hybrid automobiles. Toyota, for example, has marketed its Toyota Prius, Camry and Land Cruiser FCHC in Japan. Honda also has a hybrid car, the Insight, which is driven by electrical power plus a gasoline-fueled engine that uses one liter of gas to cover a distance of 23.4 kilometers on the highway or 21.65 kilometers in the city.

Honda also has developed fuel-cell cars. The Honda FCX, a car with a futuristic design driven by electrical power obtained from ionization, was exhibited at the Gaikindo auto expo this year.

PT HPM president director Kenji Otaka said the FCX has been introduced to show that a car adopting green technology can be mass produced. This car is provided with a composition of fuel cells that produce electrical power resulting from a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.

In a fuel cell system, hydrogen atoms are ionized to produce a number of ions and electrons that are then recombined with oxygen to continuously produce electricity and water. A motorized vehicle using this technology will produce a very clean power train because hydrogen is used as a source of energy while its emissions are not hazardous.

BMW has also produced automobiles with hybrid power. In 2003, this German manufacturer launched the BMW X2, which integrates an electric engine and a combustion engine. In this way, the conventional mechanical system will be boosted during acceleration. Several high-performing capacitors are also placed in the engine to help produce the necessary power.

According to data compiled by PT BMW Indonesia, this particular automobile not only demonstrates a response to torque increases up to 1,000Nm, but it also shows that it can cut fuel consumption by 15 percent in comparison with conventional cars. "The problem we have with hybrid cars is that they are still too expensive as a solution," said BMW Indonesia's director Helena Abidin.

She said the head office of BMW in Germany had also launched a Series-7 luxury car using hydrogen as its fuel. In 2003, a hydrogen-powered engine was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show. BWM is one of the pioneers in the development of automobiles with hydrogen engines. This alternative energy has been chosen because the exhaust resulting from burning hydrogen does not pollute the environment.

Of course, for a variety of reasons not all the cars resulting from these innovations will be available in Indonesia. One of the reasons is that these technologies are quite expensive. Agents in Indonesia even find it difficult to adopt the simplest technology that will comply with Euro 2 regulations. "The reason is that the quality of oil fuel here does not support the application of this technology," Helena said.