The new electric vehicle reconstructed by the students of the A 'Technical and Vocational School of Education and Training of Nicosia (A' TESEK Nicosia), was presented today at an event, in the presence of the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Mr. Giannis Karousos. The reconstruction of the retro car (antique) and its conversion into electric is an initiative of A 'TESEK Nicosia and was completed with the support of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, which granted a sponsorship of € 25,000.
In the context of encouraging students to develop their skills, under the guidance of their teachers, students from various disciplines of A 'TESEK Nicosia reconstructed and converted into electronic a retro car VW Beatle of 1971.
For the elaboration of the project, the systems and the necessary parts of the body of the vehicle were designed using a computer, which were completely reconstructed in the laboratories of the School by the students. In addition, modern technologies were applied, such as electronically controlled toolboxes (Computerized Numerical Control – CNC), security systems, lighting, air conditioning, etc., using Programmable Logic Controller PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), as well as modern security systems and protection SRS ( Supplementary Restraint System), such as ABS, cameras and parking sensors.
Speaking at the event for the presentation of the vehicle, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Mr. Giannis Karousos referred to the results of the EU Council of Environment Ministers held on 28 June 2022 in Luxembourg, with the participation of the Ministers of Transport and Environment. According to Mr. Karousos, the discussion on the Fit for 55 legislative package was completed in the Council, which set the goal of reducing pollution by 55% by 2030 and climate neutrality of the Union by 2050.
< p>In addition, the Council decided that from 2035 onwards, only zero-emission vehicles will be sold in the European Union, a decision which is in line with Cyprus' national targets.
Specifically, and with the aim of reducing pollution from transport, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works is developing various actions that promote the use of electric vehicles. “Our national goal is by 2030, 25% of new vehicle registrations to be electric and by 2035, this percentage to reach 100%,” said Mr. Karousos. For this purpose, in the framework of the Recovery and Durability Plan “Cyprus_Tomorrow”, the Grant Scheme for the Purchase of Electric Vehicles with a budget of € 30 million, the Withdrawal Scrap of Old Polluting Vehicles with a budget of € 15 million and a creation of € 15 million are being implemented. recharging stations in public places with a budget of € 4 million. “car of either zero or low emissions,” he said.
The initiative of A 'TESEK Nicosia, continued the Minister, acquires greater importance, since it was implemented by teenagers who will soon be the new users of the road network. With this initiative, they prove that they understand and share the trend that has developed in recent years to switch to more environmentally friendly ways of transportation. “Education plays an important role in all this effort and I am glad to see schools, principals, teachers and students coming in with us in this effort and sending a message that we can be part of the solution and not the problem.” , underlined Mr. Karousos. He added that the Ministry immediately responded to the request of the Technical School to contribute financially to the implementation of the initiative.
The Minister of Transport congratulated the students for the effort they made and the excellent work they did and conveyed the wish in the future to be able to build electric cars in Cyprus as well. In order for this to be possible, said Mr. Karousos, the appropriate culture and education are needed. He noted that in the future, the profession that will prevail in the field of transport will be the engineers of electric vehicles. “Everything will change in the future, even the gas stations, because now, instead of refueling the vehicles with conventional fuel, we will have to charge the vehicle and we will have to wait until it charges for a long time. In other words, the stereotypical way in which we have learned to live in terms of transport is completely changing “, the Minister explained characteristically.
On his part, the Director of A 'TESEK Nicosia Mr. Polys Giannakas spoke about the original action of the children of the School, noting the hard work that the students did with their teachers, which bore fruit. A 'TESEK Nicosia is being upgraded, he said, and promises to be present with important projects that will meet the policies of the Ministry of Education and the Government in general.
On behalf of the group of students who worked on the elaboration of the project, Dimitris Christofi and Anna Maria Koula, talking about their experience, characterized it as unique and unforgettable. They pointed out their cooperation with their teachers and the benefits they gained from the study and the process of reconstruction and conversion of the vehicle into an electric one. There were, as Dimitris and Anna Maria mentioned, there were difficult stages in the whole process, such as the cables and the union, and many hours of work were required. However, they said they were very happy to have the opportunity to participate in the project.
The mechanical details and the way of handling the various phases of the project were analyzed by Mr. Marios Hadjikypri, Assistant Director of Automotive Engineering.
