Electric vehicles are being developed at several Indonesian universities. The President University in Cikarang, West Java, for instance, established an electric vehicle program in 2016.

Lydia Anggraini, head of the university's School of Mechanical Engineering, who helms the Electric Car Development Team, told tempo.co that the idea was related to the decreasing amount of fossil fuels in the world.

“During my undergraduate study, I developed alternative fuel sources like castor bean oil and jelantah [cooking oil and biodiesel], but the main materials became an issue,” said Lydia.

“Based on these facts and the knowledge that I gained in Japan, where the burning process does not have to come from oil, I’m trying to develop an electric car because it’s more affordable and eco-friendly,” she said, adding that she received her postgraduate and doctoral degrees from Ritsumeikan University in Japan in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

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Dubbed the Electric Vehicle President University (EV PU), the vehicle is slated to be completed in August. Weighing 350 kilograms, the car will initially have two passenger seats and aims to become a vehicle that students can use.

“After we finish the prototype and its patent, the car will be developed on an industrial scale. To produce it on a large scale, the university plans to collaborate with Yamaha and several other Japanese companies,” said Lydia. (wir/kes)