Shanghai looks to new energy for public sanitation vehicles
A road sweeping vehicle powered by a solar lithium battery is on display at the Carbon Neutrality Expo.
Shanghai is actively promoting the application of new-energy public sanitation vehicles on a massive scale, authorities revealed on Monday.
Based on the blueprint, vehicles newly put into operation or replacing old ones used for road cleaning and garbage transportation in the city should be battery electric or fuel cell powered, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.
Between January 2021 and May of this year, Shanghai had put into operation 324 new-energy vehicles for public sanitation purposes. Among those, 137 are used for road sweeping, and the rest for garbage clearing and transportation, according to the bureau.
"This year, another 400 new-energy vehicles for public sanitation purposes will go into operation in the city, and we have set a target of 2,000 by 2025, or more than 30 percent of the total in use," said Chen Yijun, director of the science and information department of the bureau.
Chen added the number will be expanded to 50 percent in the future.
A new-energy road sweeping vehicle is on display at the expo.
"New-energy public sanitation vehicles represent the future trend, and we are gradually upgrading and eliminating old vehicles," he said. "New-energy public sanitation vehicles not only save energy and cut carbon emissions, but also have other advantages as they produce little noise."
This helps tackle complaints from residents who said traditional public sanitation vehicles disturb their life in summer as the vehicles work, Chen added.
The upgrade is rolling out across the city, Chen said.
In 2019, a number of light pure electric bucket transport garbage trucks and pure electric road maintenance vehicles was put into use in downtown Huangpu, Jing'an, Xuhui and Putuo districts, where they are used for trash transportation and road cleaning.
In People's Square, all road sweeping and maintenance vehicles in operation are purely electric powered.
New-energy vehicles used for trash transportation are on display at the expo.
Near the end of last year, two garbage vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells went into operation in Jiading District, marking the start of the application and exploration of hydrogen fuel celled public sanitation vehicles in the city.
These vehicles deliver a powerful support to the tidy and orderly environment of the city, the bureau said.
Policies covering rewards and budgets on the purchase and use of these vehicles and the layout of charging support facilities have been released in the city to boost the application of new-energy vehicles in the public sanitation field.
Eight manufacturers of new-energy public sanitation vehicles brought their vehicles to the first Carbon Neutrality Expo, also known as the Shanghai International Carbon Neutrality Expo in Technologies, Products and Achievements, now on at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).
These include pure electric road washing and sweeping vehicles, new-energy garbage transportation vehicles as well as road sweeping vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells and solar lithium batteries.
The interior of a vehicle that is on display.
New-energy vehicles for public sanitation applications are on display.
