ITS Chancellor Prof. Joni Hermana testing Kasuari’s steering wheel

ITS Campus, ITS News – The Center of Excellence in Automotive Control Systems Science (PUI-SKO) Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) designed three series of innovative cars, namely electric powered cars, biodiesel, and hybrid powered cars. In collaboration with PT PLN (Persero) and Budi Luhur University in Jakarta, the car named PLN BLITS, Hybrid Series Kasuari, and WVO Ford Ranger was officially launched by ITS Chancellor Prof. Ir Joni Hermana on Monday (7/30) night.

As it is previously known, ITS through the National Electric Car (Molina) team also launched two electric-powered cars named Ezzy 1 and Ezzy 2, as well as electric-powered scooter motorcycles named Gesits. Even today the Gesits scooter is in the process of mass production.

Director of PUI-SKO ITS, Dr Muhammad Nur Yuniarto ST, explained that PLN BLITS itself is a car that is intended for the 2019 Dakar Rally, where there are only two seats that are not too large in size. This car is 100% electrically powered using a motor with an energy capacity of 50 kilowatts.

Dr Muhammad Nur Yuniarto ST gave a speech

He further said, PLN BLITS has an engine capacity of around 1,000 cc and does not use air conditioner (AC). The battery used is 100 kWh, so BLITS is targeted to be able to travel 500 kilometers in a single charge. “Because it uses electricity, this car also does not produce exhaust gas so it is environmentally friendly,” said the lecturer who is familiarly called Nur.

The car is made by a team consisting of lecturers and students starting from D3 to S3 program study levels with a total of around 50 people. “ITS itself is strong in terms of engineering, while Budi Luhur is strong in the field of race management. So PLN BLITS (Budi Luhur ITS) is expected to have a strong collaboration,” said the ITS Mechanical Engineering lecturer.

While the Kasuari Hybrid Series car, according to Nur, is a hybrid series with the addition of diesel. So the fuel used by Kasuari car uses 50 percent of electric energy and 50 percent of diesel power. The specifications of this car are almost the same as BLITS. The name Kasuari itself was taken as a form of dedication to the eastern part of Indonesia. (Kasuari refers to the Cassowary bird)

ITS Chancellor Prof. Joni Hermana when launching the hybrid-powered Kasuari car.

Moreover, Nur said, Indonesia is having a problem regarding Crude Palm Oil (CPO) which is currently rejected by many countries. Seeing this, he and the team then tried to provide solutions through the transportation sector by using cooking oil as a black car power source. “By adding filters, we can use cooking oil from street traders to fuel this Kasuari car,” added the bespectacled man.

In addition to these two electric and hybrid-powered cars, this team which is based at ITS Electric Car Research Building also designed the WVO Ford Ranger car that originally used diesel fuel then replaced it with cooking oil biodiesel.

ITS Chancellor Prof. Joni Hermana (blue shirt), with Kasih Hanggoro as the Head of Budi Luhur Foundation, tried the BLITS car

Later on August 17th 2018, the two cars will travel around Indonesia starting from Sabang City and ending in Merauke. The trip is expected to be reached within 95 days at a distance of about 15,000 kilometers.

Meanwhile, Prof. Joni Hermana revealed that this could be an inspiration for the Indonesian nation, and that in the future, electric power vehicles could be an option. “It is hoped that this will be a development that continues to improve as a community product,” he concluded. (jun/ITS Public Relation Officer)

ITS Chancellor Prof. Joni Hermana (blue shirt) launched the electrically powered BLITS car