Messina, the first electric car created by students and teachers of the Verona Trento institute was presented at Palazzo Zanca

Messina, the first electric car created by students and teachers of the Verona Trento institute was presented at Palazzo Zanca

Presented today, Monday 11 December, at Palazzo Zanca, the first electric car created by students and teachers of the Verona Trento Institute. The initiative, which saw the creation of the vehicle through the use of recycled material, renewable photovoltaic and wind sources and innovative batteries, falls within the scope of the project MEME – Electric Mobility for an Eco-sustainable Messina. The event, attended by the mayor Federico Basile, was attended by the deputy mayor Salvatore Mondello, the superintendent of studies Stello Vadalà, the school director Simonetta Di Prima together with a delegation of teachers and students from Verona Trento who contributed to the realization of the idea planning.

“Innovation and respect for the environment. This is what this vehicle created for the first time in Italy by a city school represents." Mayor Basile said it in highlighting the satisfaction of the municipal administration and the city community for the important goal achieved in terms of environmental sustainability. “The team of students and teachers has demonstrated – through their concrete commitment that it is possible to invest in ecological and innovative technologies for environmental protection in a long-term vision for a more sustainable future. We therefore hope that this initiative - concluded Basile - can be the first of a long series of projects aimed at promoting an ecological culture in the City".

“An innovative idea – continued deputy mayor Mondello – that is, the creation of a means of transport that uses clean energy sources to reduce environmental impact and contribute to promoting a more ecological lifestyle. Satisfied with this initiative, characterized by the combination of research and innovation and for the message conveyed by this electric machine to raise awareness of environmental sustainability".

Following, the head teacher Di Prima expressed words of satisfaction for the completion of the work “the teachers and students have demonstrated, once again, that they can excel in Italy, thanks to the passion and commitment of the entire school community, who worked together to create a vehicle that respects the environment and is eco-sustainable from a from an energetic point of view. An initiative focused - underlined the school director - on the importance of promoting environmental education, but also the ability of students to put into practice the knowledge acquired in the classroom. A concrete example of how education can significantly contribute to the progress and sustainability of our country."

“A project that allowed us to combine the experience of the teachers with the creativity and enthusiasm of the students, demonstrating how collaboration between different generations can bring surprising results. The electric car produced represents a concrete solution to reduce the environmental impact and dependence on fossil fuels, and demonstrates how school can be a place of training and innovation for a more sustainable future, as well as becoming a life experience for follow for future generations", the comment of the superintendent Vadalà.

The MEME machine from abandoned and vandalized scrap it has become a jewel of technology and the Cristoforo Sapienza professors focused on the technical aspects and materials used, each with respect to their own skills and role within the project IIS VT MEME Project for the Potenza section; Giovanni Alessi IIS VT MEME project for the signal section; Antonino Campisi and Raffaele Manfredi IIS VT representatives of the E-mobility Network. The car was created through the use of recycled material revitalized by technological innovation and the potential that electrical engineering and automation offer today. In detail, the old internal combustion engine was replaced with a direct current electric motor coupled directly to the car's original transmission, maintaining the kinematics. This allows the use of gears and mechanical motion reversal. The power electric cables also come from construction site scraps of electrical transformation substations. The batteries are a sophisticated storage system with lithium anode and lithium iron phosphate cathode (LiFePO4), supplied by CNR ITAE to be tested on the vehicle in urban driving conditions. The charging status can be monitored remotely via a specific software application. For charging, the vertical axis wind and photovoltaic systems present in the automatic electrical systems laboratory of the IIS Verona Trento are used; the vehicle is also equipped with a microprocessor control system which detects the number of engine revolutions and the speed reached by the vehicle while driving; of a prototyping board with touch display and Android operating system that allows you to use the Google, maps, drive etc... apps; and finally the vehicle interacts with voice commands at pre-set orders.

At the end they spoke, Claudio Cavallotto director of the E-mobility network; engineer Antonino Gaito, Technical Marketing manager of STMicroelectronics; professors Bruno Azzerboni and Francesco Longo of Unime; engineer Gianluca Leonardi of the Cnr Itae in reference to "Latest generation storage systems"; while the topic "Full electric mobility" was treated by prof. David Carfi.

Finally, the president of the Imprendi Foundation Moreno Muffatto and the president of the Messina Chamber of Commerce Ivo Blandina spoke and awarded the Verona Trento Institute the Imprendi Prize achieved for the completeness of the project, the innovativeness of the solution, the partnership with CNR and consistency with sustainability objectives. The prize “Learn”, initiative promoted and managed by the Imprendi Foundation - School of Entrepreneurship is aimed at young people with the aim of enhancing and giving visibility to innovation and entrepreneurship projects developed and implemented with the contribution of students and teachers of Italian schools of the second cycle of education and gods ITS.