Clever to boost development of local EV technology

ISKANDAR PUTERI, July 1 (Bernama) -- The Campus for Local Electric Vehicle Expeditious Roll-out (CLEVER) programme that will be implemented at selected universities will boost the development and spur the use of local electric vehicle (EV) technology.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said the programme under NanoMalaysia Berhad (NMB) is capable of becoming a platform or sandbox of innovation to enable start-ups and innovators to conduct real-time testing related to EV technology in a controlled environment.

He said the CLEVER initiative that will start at EduCity Iskandar here and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN).

“The involvement of NMB is significant in creating a conducive ecosystem to encourage local talent to develop excellent technology and market their achievements,” he said during his speech at the launch of CLEVER at EduCity Sports Complex here today, which was also attended by NMB chief executive officer Dr Rezal Khairi Ahmad.

He said the launch was also in line with his ministry’s desire to boost development and use of local EV technology to support the National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2020 in preparing around 5,000 EV charging stations to strengthen EV support infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Rezal Khairi said CLEVER would not only spur the use of EV vehicle technology in campus areas, but was capable of tackling issues like affordability, local skill talent and technical support, the lack of infrastructure and range anxiety through best practices.

“CLEVER will provide smart solutions or a CLEVER approach for Malaysia to achieve technology sovereignty and commercial equity in the EV sector, at both local and regional levels,” he said.

He added that NMB was committed to turning Malaysia into a EV component exporter through various initiatives, including the launch of CLEVER.

-- BERNAMA