Ihab Seidy is the Founder & Managing Director of Transkinect, an innovative start-up in transport renewable energy applications. Ihab was managing his business in the Kuwait and Egypt construction section, that was specialised in building retractable roofing systems, skylights, pool enclosures. He has more than 22 years of experience in the construction and green energy industry.
The Columnist caught up with him to learn more about his patented technology and his thoughts on innovations in the renewable energy area.
The Columnist (TC): Welcome to Singapore! Can you tell us about the renewable energy system that you invented?
Ihab Seidy (IS): My developed technology, called Egyptian Electrical Pedal (EEP), transfers traffic movement into clean electricity and allows management of the traffic in smart and cost effective way. I developed this technology in line with the increased number of veichles and paved roads in the world. When any car owner or drivers are driving their cars they are participating in generating green power in their city or country.
The EEP is installed into roads and generates electricity as vehicles drive over.
TC: What inspired you to create something like this?
IS: The inspiration behind this comes from the potential energy lost that comes from all vehicles while moving from place to another, and also the great damage on our environment caused by vehicular exhaust and pollution. Most cars move around with only one or two persons, and if we can to increase the energy generated from the vehicles that would otherwise be lost, we will have a great source of energy.
TC: What would be the main advantages of using the EEP compared to other conventional renewable energy sources?
IS: This clean electricity is inexpensive, easy to install and it doesn’t depend on weather conditions like wind and solar power. This is the most quiet method and has the highest ROI (return on investment) compared to the others. One of the main technical advantages of the EEP is that we generate the energy directly where is used, so there is no need to transmit the energy through a long distance. It can be used at any crossroad, bus stop and terminal or parking areas, providing a reasonable source of clean energy that can be used to light the roads and traffic lights, buildings, homes and also feed excess electricity back into the grid.
The energy from cars driving on roads with EEP technology installed can power the street lamps and traffic lights.
TC: Singapore is a long way from Cairo. Was there a reason why you have chosen to bring your concept here?
IS: Actually the spark came from Egypt but the reason for Singapore is because I feel that Singapore is the perfect platform for any entrepreneur willing to launch his business internationally. The scientific and R&D centres available here, along with the  infrastructure helps any entrepreneur plan and grow his business. Also, one of the major reasons for choosing Singapore is that I can serve close Asian markets like Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. What has proven our vision and affirmed the choice of Singapore is that we managed to get clients from the private and government sectors, as well as from Malaysia in three months. We are also getting support from the government and universities to promote and launch our innovative business internationally.
TC: It looks like the EEP could be a viable alternative to conventional renewable energy. What are your growth plans?
IS: Our energy cost is less than 50% of any conventional power system like fossil fuels and less than 70% of renewable energy systems like solar and wind power. Our technology is the ideal for all financiers and investors interested in the power sector. Our pricing and intial investment for EEP technology is not the only advantage but there’s more potential in the future. Today the world has more than 100 million kilometers of paved roads and 800 million vehicles that are running on them every day.
TC: What are your thoughts on the growth of renewable energy in Asia? What kind of potential is there compared to the rest of the world?
IS: China and india are leading the renewable energy market specially in wind and solar power. Investment and market wise, they are investing around USD 100 billion annually. According to Asian plans and forecasts, we expect the share of energy production from renewable sources to be 19% by 2020 and countries like Singapore are facing huge challenges to minimise their dependence on natural gas and oil products for power generation. Two thirds of the energy demand will come mainly from the developing countries in Asia, according to the new world energy outlook of the International Energy Agency (IEA). There’s a huge potential here in Asia.
TC: What is the biggest obstacle for people to adopt renewable energy in this region?
IS: The awareness among the public must increase through mainstream media, and the decision makers and politicians must support and subsidise this growing green trend worldwide. For example, the green power regulations should be upgraded to respond to the frequent technological breakthroughs in this field and they should be supporting ways to encourage households to be able to feed clean energy back into the power grid, especially in Asia.
For more information about Transkinect and the Egyptian Electrical Pedal (EEP), please contact Ihab at ihab@transkinect.com.
This interview was conducted for The Columnist, a newsletter by Consulus that offers ideas on business, design and world affairs. The views expressed in this article are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Consulus.
