Kwara State University (KWASU) Malete has ventured into large-scale commercial conversion of petrol vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric vehicles.
The varsity located in Moro local government said it has successfully converted three vehicles into electric and another one into CNG.
At a press conference on Friday, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Shaynkh Luqman Jimoh, said the school had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese firms toward realising their objectives.
Jimoh disclosed that the two Chinese firms were Zhejiang Sinray Electronics Company Limited and Jiaxing Keyuan Electronics Company Limited.
According to him, the school successfully converted three of its vehicles and one from the Ministry of Business and Innovation.
He lamented that the unending rise of petrol prices and the unhealthy carbon emissions forced the school into research that has paid off.
Jimoh highlighted the gains of the conversion including a cut in cost and environmental benefits, stating that while a litre of Petroleum is sold for N1,200, “a kilogram of gas is just N200, aside that, the risk of carbon inhaling is obviously nonexistent.”
He however disclosed the intention of KWASU to launch a site for the official take-off for commercial essence, assuring that on take-off, “it would aid our internal generation services.
“We are at a developmental stage now, by the time we to the marketing stage, we should be able to add to the revenue advancement of the school especially when we get to the site here in town.”
KWASU chief technologist, AbdulAzeez Akande, explained that while it takes about N6 million to convert a scrap vehicle to an electric vehicle, it only takes less than N1.5 million to convert a vehicle into CNG.
He added that “the vehicle will not use engine but a renewable battery that would be charged and on a full charge will cover between 80-150 kilometers before next charge.”
