Mr. Sontaya Kunplome, Mayor of Pattaya City, Mr. Michinobu Sugata, President of Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd., and Mr. Shunsaku Nakai, Managing Director of Osaka Gas (THAILAND) Co., Ltd. joined an MOU signing ceremony toward establishing a decarbonized society.
The aim of the project is to study and lay the foundation for a decarbonized and sustainable society through environmentally-friendly automotive innovations coupled with clean energy for various usages. The ceremony was held on Monday, 21 December 2020 at Eastin Thana City Golf Resort Bangkok, with the attendance of H.E. Mr. Kazuya Nashida, Ambassador of Japan to Thailand, and Dr. Luxmon Attapich, Deputy Secretary General, Eastern Economic Corridor Office.
The “Decarbonized Sustainable City” project is a joint collaboration between Toyota Motor Thailand, Pattaya city and Osaka Gas group to promote a zero-emission society. The project will also support Pattaya city as a regional economic centre in the Eastern Economic Corridor area to become a role model of eco-tourism, while uplifting the quality of life of the citizens of the region. In the project, a wide range of alternative energy vehicles will be introduced as public transport, while clean energy systems will also be implemented through biogas technologies for generating electricity for EV charging stations and other usage cases. The project is expected to start within the first half of 2021.
Under the MOU, Toyota will bring a wide range of alternative energy vehicles, such as hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles, to demonstrate the eco-tourism concept and to support transportation needs of local residents and tourists. Osaka Gas group will introduce its biogas technologies which are already proven in Japan.
The project, combined with research data on real user experiences, is believed to help the Thai government develop its national policy for vehicle electrification, including for production of suitable alternative energy vehicles in the country, and to contribute to maintaining or even enhancing Thailand’s position as a production hub of alternative energy vehicles.
Mr. Michinobu Sugata, President of Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd., said, “Deeply recognising the impact of automobiles on the environment, Toyota has developed a wide range of innovative technologies toward a sustainable society and various usage cases, such as Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and so on. To make these various electrified vehicles widely spread, we need collaboration which involves not only the automotive sector for considering usage cases of each of these vehicles but also many other sectors. Toyota will contribute to this project, with its ‘Customer First’ philosophy. I believe the project will provide great opportunities to obtain actual user feedback toward electrified vehicles. I also hope that this collaboration will bring various benefits to Pattaya city, as well as residents and entrepreneurs in the area, for the city to become a successful role model for other regions to follow.”
Mr. Sontaya Kunplome, Mayor of Pattaya city, said, “We as Pattaya city have adopted the Neo Pattaya Policy to make use of modern technologies and innovations toward more efficient city management and planning. Consideration toward the environment is one of the important aspects in planning for smart city development and smart transport and energy systems will help achieve a good balance between enhancing production and consuming less energy while strengthening energy security. I sincerely hope that this collaborative project will develop and enhance the transport and tourism sectors in Pattaya and will help our city become a role model for sustainable society.”
Mr. Shunsaku Nakai, Managing Director of Osaka Gas (THAILAND) Co., Ltd., commented that, “Osaka Gas group has expertise and experience in the area of biogas for building an environmentally-friendly economy as well as three key technologies – biogas purification technology, technology for generating hydrogen from methane gas, and technology of using biogas for cogeneration of heat and power. We are confident that our experiences and technologies will play an important role in driving this project to achieve its goals.”
This initiative is also supported by other relevant parties such as Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd. from the automotive industry, as well as other private sectors and organisations relevant to Pattaya, with the goal of driving the city toward a sustainable society role model in Thailand.