The first electric car, fully implemented by students and professors of the Technological Institute Verona Trento of the city was presented by Messina Commune. An old Renault 5 was taken from an abandoned and vandalized wreck and became an electrical jewel thanks to the use of recycled material. The old internal combustion engine was replaced by a DC electric motor directly coupled with the car’s original transmission, maintaining the kinematics. Renewable photovoltaic and wind power sources, as well as innovative batteries, are used: a sophisticated storage system with lithium anode and lithium iron phosphate cathode (LiFePO4), supplied by CNR ITAE to be tested on the vehicle in urban driving regime.
The initiative is framed in the ambit of MEME project – Electric Mobility for Ecosustainable Messina. “Innovation and environment protection. This is represented by this vehicle implemented for the first time in Italy by a scholastic citizen reality. We wish that this initiative may be the first of a long series of projects aimed at promoting an ecologic culture in cities”, declared the major Federico Basile.
“A project that has allowed joining professors’ experience with students’ creativity and enthusiasm, demonstrating how the collaboration among different generations can lead to surprising results. The electric car manufactured represents a concrete solution to decrease the environmental impact and the dependence on fossil fuels, and proves how the school can be a place of education and of innovation for a more sustainable future, besides concretizing in life experiences to be followed for future generations”, the comment by Superintendent Vadalà .
