ICL Co Ltd, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp and Nippon Fruehauf Co joined forces to develop a system that providesair conditioning for trucks using solar energy. After the “i-Cool,” ICLis now gearing up to release the “i-Cool Solar”, an idling-stop airconditioning system. The i-Cool Solar is made by using Nippon Fruehauf’s mount to install Mitsubishi Chemical’s PV cell modules on the container of the truck, which are then combined with the i-Cool.

The i-Cool Solar traps solar energy, stores it in a battery whilethe truck is moving, and uses this green energy when the truck’s engineis not operational. It is capable of saving nearly 1.8L of light oil per hour when the truck is not moving and reduce fuel consumption by about1% when the truck is moving, meaning the air conditioning system cansave about 1,500L of light oil annually. The air conditioning systemincreases the life of the battery by reducing the overdischarge of thestorage battery. The company plans to conduct system’s field tests assoon as possible, so that it can be commercialized by spring 2012.

Via: TechOn