The ITE organic polymer activators for extending the life of lead-acid batteries were first developed by a Japanese group in 1997 led by Dr. Akiya Kozawa. The initial activator was a composite mixture of carbon and polyvinyl alcohol. A US Patent (5,958,623) was issued on September 28, 1999 for this new lead-acid battery activator. Later research found that the organic polymer alone was very effective which started a wide search for other such organic additives. The most effective one to date is an acrylic polymer with a high molecular weight. This paper summarizes the current results involving this acrylic polymer.

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Based on our extensive battery regeneration testing, we have concluded that 50 % smaller lead-acids should provide similar performance in trucks, buses and taxis. In order to confirm this, 20 trucks were evaluated using these smaller batteries and it was determined that these batteries had a sufficient performance if they contained our ITE organic polymer activator in the acid electrolyte.

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This paper presents the development of non-rare-earth magnetic gears for electric vehicles. Firstly, the magnetic gears which adopt either non-rare-earth or rare-earth permanent magnets (PMs) are discussed. Then, by using the finite element analysis, the electromagnetic performance of these magnetic gears are evaluated and quantitatively compared based on the same structure. Also, the natural magnetic characteristics of the non-rare-earth and rare-earth PMs are compared. Finally, a comparison of the cost-effectiveness among different types of PMs is carried out. The results indicate that the non-rare-earth PM material is preferred to the rare-earth PM material for application to magnetic gears.

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It is an important issue to develop an easy and high-performance electric wheelchair for the growing population of elderly people. If there is insufficient space in the indoor environment, it is difficult for a normal electric wheelchair to change direction and maneuver. It is important that the wheelchair can be moved in all directions with easy operation. In this research, a new type of all-directional electric wheelchair has been designed. This electric wheelchair consists of three motors to drive and to change the orientation of the wheels. With this wheelchair, it becomes possible to operate wheelchairs more easily without the use of special wheels. The drive units are encased inside of the body, therefore, there is the advantage of a lower risk of the wheel rolling over the user's feet.

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The development of electric vehicles (EVs) has advanced rapidly over the past decades. Researchers and engineers have concentrated on the improvement of EV performance through the advances in batteries, motors, converters, controllers and relevant auxiliaries, with great successes. Now, it comes to the stage of commercialization. It is important to understand various cost issues and the business models relating to EV application. This paper aims to discuss the life cycle cost (LCC) of both EV and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in Macau. Viability of EVs will be assessed by comparing the LCCs of a Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and its comparable ICE counterpart "i"; the fuel cost and CO2 emission reduction of an EV will also be evaluated.

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