Mitsubishi Chemical Testing Solar-Powered Air-Conditioning System for Truck Cabs

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., a major Japanese chemical products company, announced on October 22, 2009, that it has developed a solar-powered system to air-condition truck cabs. The company has been jointly testing the prototype trucks to evaluate their performance and fuel-efficiency improvements since August with its subsidiaries, Mitsubishi Chemical Logistics Corp. and RYOKA E-TEC K.K.

Two ten-ton trucks, both equipped with the system -- which includes lightweight, amorphous silicon solar cells installed on the roof of their rear decks and a compressor on the roof of their cabs -- were used as test vehicles. Mitsubishi Chemical, currently working towards mass production of organic solar cells by 2015, expects the new system to be a promising application of their flexible, lightweight, and low-cost solar cells.

The use of photovoltaic power for air conditioning in truck cabs allows drivers to stop idling their engines while the truck is parked, which saves approximately 460 liters of diesel fuel per 10-ton truck between spring and fall, and improves fuel efficiency by two to eight percent. If the 1.4 million commercial trucks in Japan used the solar air-conditioning system, they would reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 1.65 million tons per year.

The company plans to wrap up testing and evaluate the test data in February 2010, in order to start the second phase of testing, which involves improvement of system specifications on an increased number of prototypes. Solar applications for heating will also be evaluated.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. official website
http://www.m-kagaku.co.jp/index_en.htm
Mitsubishi Chemical Logistics Corp. official website
http://www.mclc.co.jp/english/

Posted: 2010/01/10 06:00:15 AM