Deakin perfectly placed to respond to PM’s call for green car innovation

Deakin University is perfectly placed to play a vital role in Australia’s drive towards the sustainable motor industry as announced in November by the Prime Minister, the Honourable Kevin Rudd.

“Our win in the Ford Global Challenge has really put Deakin University right out in front in the quest to design and build post-petroleum, emission friendly vehicles,” said Professor Peter Hodgson, Director of Research at Deakin’s Institute for Technology Research Innovation (ITRI).

“It was great to see Deakin invited to be a special part of the launch of the Government’s new $6.2 billion automotive package.

“I know the members of the Ford Global Challenge team who got to meet the Prime Minister were very excited that their work could be showcased in this way.

“Their idea of a lightweight vehicle driven by compressed air is cutting edge stuff and typical of the work we do in engineering here at Deakin.”

Dr Bernard Rolfe, head of the Model T project, told the Prime Minister that his image and had been part of Deakin’s submission to Ford.

“I told him we had used footage of him in our DVD and he was very self-deprecating, saying that he was sure it was our innovative ideas rather than his picture that had helped us win,” Dr Rolfe said.

“He was genuinely interested in the concept of a car that runs on compressed air, telling us he had read all about it in his car on the way to the function.”

Professor Hodgson said the success with the Model T project really brought the focus on all the excellent work being undertaken at ITRI.

“We have worked hard in a lot of areas, not just in the Ford Global Challenge, to put ourselves at the forefront in creating cars that are environmentally friendly as well as safe,” he said.

“Our work in metals and other advanced materials is highly regarded not just in the automotive industry, but also in the aerospace industry, where we are helping create the aeroplanes of the 21st Century.

“We’ve dedicated ourselves to research that makes a difference, the sort of difference the Prime Minister is looking for in this new automotive package and we’re ready right now to help manufacturers design the sustainable cars of the future.”

Affirming that the motor industry was part of the country’s future, the Prime Minister said: “Australia needs a green car industry that manufacturers the fuel efficient, low-emissions vehicles of the future and creates the well paid, high skilled green jobs of the future. The choice was not between having a growing economy in the short-term and a green economy in the medium to long-term.

“We can work effectively to develop both, and that's what a large part of today's package is all about."

For more information on Deakin University’s ground-breaking work in the automotive industry:
www.deakin.edu.au/itri
Previous research news stories on the Ford Global Challenge success:
www.gsdm.com.au/newsletters/deakin/oct08/

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