PCJ – Chapter 706 Bio-energy Car (Part 2)

The bio-energy battery, after several months of effort from Mei Qing and her team, had finally been basically completed. Although they encountered many challenges along the way, in the hands of cultivators whose imagination far surpassed that of ordinary people, these problems weren’t insurmountable. Still, it took several months to overcome them. Even with Zhang Jiaohua joining in at certain key stages, some hurdles consumed a great deal of time.

Meanwhile, demolition work at the industrial park had already begun, but there wasn’t even a shadow of a bio-energy car to be seen yet. Once demolition was complete, factory design would have to follow. But the design of the factory had to be closely integrated with the manufacturing process of the bio-energy car—only then could a scientifically sound and efficient factory layout be achieved. The Meishan Group, having already gone through the design of a pharmaceutical plant and a heavy equipment factory, knew this very well.

“What kind of car are we going to design?” Zhang Jiaohua asked. The first step was to clarify the target—only then could they design effectively. Often, the hardest part was defining the right question.

“We need to give the bio-energy battery enough surface area to absorb sunlight. That way, the car’s range can be extended,” said Kong Fangzhou, who spoke from the perspective of the battery’s charging needs.

“In today’s cities, pollution is terrible. A freshly washed car doesn’t even stay clean for a day. I wish a car could automatically keep itself clean,” said Mei Qing, recalling the frustrations she had with her little car during her time at Qinghua University. Keeping it clean had cost her a fortune.

“Using conventional technology, this would be difficult. But for us, there are two possible solutions. One, the bio-energy battery itself could directly absorb dirt and grime from the car’s surface. Two, we could set up simple dust-repelling arrays on the car, keeping it clean at all times,” Zhang Jiaohua suggested, being familiar with both approaches.

“I think the first option is risky. If the bio-energy battery absorbs such pollutants, it could easily poison the bio-cells, shortening their lifespan. The second option seems more reliable,” Mei Qing countered immediately.

But Ji Jiaxin offered a different perspective, from a non-technical standpoint: “Actually, the first option might be better. Ideally, we should minimize the use of cultivation techniques in our products. And let’s be realistic: we’re not creating a car that consumers will buy once and use for life. It just needs to last a certain service period. We can evaluate how much cell life would be reduced by this approach. Also, once we scale up, we can’t have Meishan cultivators working on assembly lines to inscribe arrays. That would be unworkable.”

As a pure technologist, Mei Qing hadn’t considered these issues. Ji Jiaxin, as a manager, naturally thought differently.

“Well, that’s for you all to decide. I’m just providing technical input,” Mei Qing said helplessly. She found it hard to accept that sometimes “the best” wasn’t actually the right choice.

“I support President Ji’s opinion,” said Kong Fangzhou. “When we strive for perfection in our products, we must also consider cost. If Meishan cultivators had to run assembly lines, how expensive would these cars become? At that point, we might as well just sell magical artifacts.”

“Alright then, we’ll focus on a technical solution. For the cleaning issue, we’ll go with the first approach. Let’s see if we can add a ‘toxin discharge’ function to the bio-energy cells so they can maintain vitality while removing pollutants. Now, let’s continue where we left off,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“It would be ideal if the car could self-repair. That way, small scratches or bumps wouldn’t require repairs. If we use genetic modulation techniques to make the car’s frame ‘grow’ like a human skeleton, with the coating resembling a beetle’s shell, we could achieve this. And we could strengthen the frame and shell far beyond natural equivalents,” proposed Qi Xia creatively.

“That’s a solid idea. With our technology, we could make the frame several times stronger than carbon fiber, even surpassing our special steels. The only issue is that the process would take a long time,” Mei Qing considered aloud.

“No problem. If necessary, we’ll just expand the industrial park. Our group isn’t exactly short of money,” Zhang Yuanbao said cheerfully.

“Not short of money? Do you have any idea how much a production line like this would cost? If each car takes too long to move through the line, the costs will spiral out of control,” Ji Jiaxin shot him a glare.

“Yuanbao, stick to your ideas and leave the rest alone. Don’t talk about what you don’t understand,” Zhang Jiaohua cut in.

Scratching his head, Zhang Yuanbao said, “Well, I think the car should be comfortable to sit in, smarter, and ideally able to drive itself. That way I wouldn’t have to keep my hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. The seats should be comfortable, and inside the car it should feel like sitting in a forest—spring all year round. And safety is very important. By the way, are we still planning to use airbags?”

“That’s easy. Of course it’ll have self-driving capability. The control unit will need much higher intelligence, but we’ve already applied that to our excavators—we just need to upgrade the technology. Actually, if we applied bio-energy to computers, the possibilities would be even more fascinating,” said Nie Tong, who, along with Yaba, was handling the intelligent equipment division.

“Exactly. We should prioritize developing intelligent computers. That would be huge for our group. It would multiply the precision and efficiency of our production lines several times over,” Yaba agreed.

“That’s simple enough. The auto city already includes a parts-manufacturing zone. Our parts will likely be fairly straightforward. Why not set up a dedicated intelligent equipment R&D and production center there?” Ji Jiaxin suggested.

Nie Tong nodded. “Then it’s settled.”

“As for comfort, that’s easier. Seats can be designed to auto-adjust to the most comfortable positions for driver and passengers. Climate control is also easy—we can regulate air, light, and heat through the car’s structural framework, along with exhaust. That’s not much harder than the auto-cleaning function,” said Kong Fangzhou.

“As for the transmission and related systems, we can either reference existing technology or innovate on our own. Let’s all get moving. The goal is to overcome these technical challenges as quickly as possible and get a prototype car built,” Zhang Jiaohua concluded.