A Thailand-based renewable energy company is keen on starting an electric vehicle business in Laos once the country has technology in place to help execute a project of this nature.
Bangkok Post reports that UAC Global Public Company Limited (UAC), a renewable power operator and chemical goods trader, will adopt EV technology to support its Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) production and transport within Thailand.
Before starting an EV Ecosystem venture in Laos, the company wishes to utilize electric electric trucks and charging stations, to gradually move on to a cleaner source of energy for its business.
President and CEO of UAC, Chatchapol Prasopchok, said that the company is currently conducting a feasibility study to graduate from fuel-run trucks to vehicles powered with battery to control the costs of RDF transport and waste management.
The company expects that electric trucks will save 75% of its expenses, but an initial investment of TBH 100 million or over USD 2 million will be required to acquire a fleet of 60 EV trucks. The company also plans on setting up EV charging station around transportation routes.
“Our use of EV trucks and chargers will serve as a prototype for the EV ecosystem business in Laos,” said Mr Chatchapol.
Out of THB 270 million allocated to support the company’s EV technology development, THB 100 million has been assigned for the development of its RDF production facility in Laos’s Khammouane province.
Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is defined as the energy outcome of separation of urban solid waste between flammable fractions and hard-to-burn fractions.
The government of Laos and a private company in Vientiane Capital also signed an agreement in May, to study the possibility of using waste to generate energy across the country.
