Gov't to enhance EV technology through NESTI - Adham

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, in a statement yesterday, said this can drive economic growth and job creation in line with aspirations to make Malaysia a high-tech and high-income nation by 2030.

"This programme emphasises the development and commercialisation of energy storage systems for electric mobility use including batteries, ultra-capacitors, hydrogen storage and reactors, energy management systems, and battery recycling," he said, adding that the programme presented in the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) would be launched soon.

Dr Adham said to strengthen EV technology, the ministry used a 'whole of nation' approach to enhance acceptance of the technology and further achieve the goal of positioning the country as a renowned exporter of EV components in the ASEAN region.

MOSTI added that the Enabling Mobility Electrification for Green Economy (EMERGE) programme by NanoMalaysia has received the Strategic Research Fund under the Malaysia Grand Challenge.

Among others, the programme aims to improve the EV technology development block through the Nano Technology Commercialisation Programme to improve energy storage and management systems, Internet of NanoThings and development of off-grid green charging stations as well as developing EV prototypes.

In addition, an EMERGE side initiative namely the Rapid Electric Vehicles Innovation Validation Ecosystem (REVIVE) has also been created to focus on the conversion of regular engines to electric engines.

"MOSTI is confident that public acceptance of EV vehicles will increase in the short term as EV vehicles are energy efficient and only require a charging infrastructure involving a battery exchange system.

"EV technology also has great potential for public transport and delivery services by 2030," Dr Adham said.

The aspiration to empower the country's electric vehicle industry is based on the 10-10 Science, Technology, Innovation and Economic Frameworks (10-10 MySTIE) which is an initiative that supports the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (DSTIN) 2021-2030.

It also takes into account the focus contained in the National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2020, National Transport Policy (NTP) 2019-2030 and the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030.