China's first no-pollution battery electric bike greeted the world
Monday in Shanghai and is ready for mass production.
The bike, co-developed by the Shanghai Greenlight Electric Bicycle,
Int. and the Powerzinc Electric (Shanghai), Int., is equipped with
zinc-air battery, a device that generates power by way of
transferring air and zinc ions reaction produced chemical energy
into electric energy.
Powered by such a fuel battery, the bike emit no waste even after
being disposed, realizing a real "zero pollution" state.
With the zinc-air battery, which could provide 0.2 kwh of power per
kilogram, a bike could run more than 200 kms continuously, about
four to five times that of lead-acid battery ones.
Most electric bikes in China are now fueled by lead-acid batteries
containing lead, which will bring about pollution when
disposed.
At
a time when many regions in China are plagued by choking air
pollution and traffic jams, environmentally friendly electric
bicycles are a good way out.
Popular as a "promising industry," China produced 400,000 electric
bikes in 2001 and expects 900,000 in 2002, with east China as a
bright point increasing at 22 percent annually.
(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2002)