Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 29 2021

AsiaElec ELECTRIC VEHCILES AsiaElec

VivoPower International announces $29mn

Mongolian electric light vehicle deal

MONGOLIA VIVOPOWER International has announced the construction and defence. Alongside solar
signing of an agreement with Ulaanbaatar-based generation, battery storage and on-site power
Bodiz International Group to distribute electric distribution, Tembo e-LV products are a key
light vehicles (e-LVs) in Mongolia using e-LV component of VivoPower’s turnkey net-zero
conversion kits from VivoPower’s wholly-owned solutions for corporate decarbonization.
subsidiary Tembo e-LV. The distribution agreement marks Vivo
Under the agreement, Bodiz intends to pur- Power’s fourth major distribution deal in 2021
chase 350 Tembo e-LV conversion kits through for Tembo e-LVs across four continents and
December 2026. The company estimated that advances the company’s aim to build a global
these orders would be worth up to $29mn in Tembo distribution network before the end of
potential revenue over the life of the distribution this year.
agreement. Bodiz will be responsible for acquir- Bodiz has been distributing ruggedized SUVs
ing original vehicles from Toyota, converting the and other heavy-duty vehicles to the Mongolian
vehicles to ruggedized e-LVs using the Tembo market since its founding in 1997. In addition
solutions, selling the units to end-customers and to Tembo vehicle distribution, the distribution
providing ongoing servicing and maintenance. agreement includes plans for Bodiz to send
The Tembo kits transform diesel-pow- technicians to Tembo’s Netherlands headquar-
ered Toyota Land Cruiser and Hilux vehicles ters to be trained in e-LV conversion, as well as a
into ruggedized e-LVs for use in mining and potential expansion of Bodiz’s facilities to service
other hard-to-decarbonize sectors, including Tembo electric vehicles.™

NEWS IN BRIEF

CLIMATE CHANGE more than 600 policy makers from the public Fund and counterpart financing from the
and private sectors participated in high-level three governments. It was ADB’s first initiative
ADB boosts climate advocacy meetings and workshops focused in Southeast Asia to improve government
responses to climate change’s impacts on
on national health adaptation strategies and
resilience in health the coordination of disease surveillance and health care. It built on ADB’s comparative
advantage in facilitating regional cooperation
responses, among others.
systems in Cambodia, Laos governments identify cost-effective and strengthening regional health cooperation
The project also helped the three
as a public good.
and Vietnam investments to reduce mortality and PDR, and Viet Nam recognise that climate
The governments of Cambodia, the Lao
morbidity caused by diseases related to
A six-year, pioneering regional technical climate change. They included establishing change is a major threat to their sustainable
assistance initiative has boosted the capacity early heat warning systems and upgrading economic development. All three had
of health systems in Cambodia, the Lao health facilities to be more climate approved strategic plans for public health
People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), resilient, especially in remote, underserved as part of their national strategic plans on
and Viet Nam to respond to climate- communities. climate change.
induced health threats amid the coronavirus “The project has helped reduce Cambodia, The project was implemented by
disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Asian the Lao PDR, and Viet Nam’s vulnerability Cambodia’s Preventive Medicine Department,
Development Bank (ADB) announced. to climate-induced health threats, especially the Lao PDR’s Department of Hygiene
The Strengthening Resilience to Climate among vulnerable populations, including and Health Promotion, and Viet Nam’s
Change in the Health Sector in the Greater the poor, migrants, and ethnic minorities,” Health Environment Management Agency.
Mekong Subregion (GMS) project helped said ADB Director of Human and Social All three countries were actively involved
the three countries adopt national health Development for Southeast Asia Ayako in the technical assistance’s preparation,
adaptation plans to address weather- Inagaki. implementation, capacity building activities,
related health risks, including heat and “The health national adaptation plan and knowledge sharing.
communicable diseases such as dengue, and surveillance systems supported by this ADB
malaria, heat stress, and diarrhoea. project will help Viet Nam mitigate climate
In all, it completed detailed vulnerability change’s health and economic impacts amid
and adaptation assessments for 14 high-risk the COVID-19 pandemic,” said ADB Country SOL AR
provinces in those countries and trained Director for Viet Nam Andrew Jeffries.
more than 1,300 health sector staff on climate The project was approved in 2015 with a Asia Pacific solar PV
change and health adaptation. In addition, $4.4mn grant from the Nordic Development

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 29 21•July•2021