The electric version of Formula One racing is about to start its second season in Beijing

Formula E motor sport kicks off its 2015-16 season on Oct 24 with a race through the streets of Beijing, with electric cars that look like their Formula One cousins carrying the banner for clean energy and sustainability.

Last year's champion was Nelson Piquet Jr, son of three-time Formula One champion Nelson Piquet, driving for the Chinese-owned NextEV TCR Formula E Team.

The Formula E inaugural race took place in Beijing last year. Photos provided to China Daily

 

The first single-seat e-car racing series is backed by the International Automobile Federation, known as FIA for its French acronym, the governing body for Formula One and other motor sports events.

"As a platform to promote electric vehicles, Formula E is an excellent concept, as it introduces the general public to this exciting technology, which will become increasingly mainstream as oil supplies dwindle and emissions targets become increasingly stringent," says Billy Wu, a lecturer at the School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London.

"Assuming it is as successful as Formula One, we can expect many new technical innovations to arise from the excellent engineering work of the various teams as they push the boundaries of the technology."

Dan Brett, a professor of chemical engineering at University College London, adds: "The high-tech nature of competitive auto racing means that technologies can be developed at an accelerated pace within an exciting framework that engages with the public and demonstrates the advantages of electromobility."

Last year's inaugural season, with 10 races that included such locations as Beijing, Buenos Aires, Berlin and London, received a fantastic response, says Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E. "All the races were packed and there were almost 200 million spectators worldwide."

This year's season is scheduled for 10 locations again, including Berlin, Paris and Moscow, ending in a double-header in London in July, according to the official FIA Formula E website.

Agag says the vehicles' lower pollution and costs boosted the popularity of Formula E.

"Global warming and pollution are the biggest challenges, for which car emissions are one of the biggest sources. I think clean mobility is essential to stop pollution and global warming."

China added 17 million new cars last year, reaching a record 154 million nationwide, according to the Ministry of Public Security. In Beijing, as in other cities, vehicles are the biggest source of pollution, contributing almost one-fourth of the city's total pollution from the dangerous PM2.5.

Effectively tackling pollution while maintaining sustainable economic growth is of great significance to China. Developing clean energy such as electric-powered cars is a natural way forward.