Jhalokathi's Golam Saeed Khan claims a battery car that runs without external charging, using a rotating four-battery system

Battery-powered vehicles need regular charging, and frequent load-shedding has made that charging a hardship. It was to escape that hassle, Golam Saeed Khan of Jhalokathi says, that he developed a new-technology vehicle. He claims the car, built around a special arrangement of four batteries, will not need to be charged from an external power connection.

According to his description, two of the car's four batteries power the vehicle while the other two are being charged at the same time. When the first pair runs down, the car runs on the second pair, and the batteries are used and charged in rotation.

Golam Saeed Khan said many battery vehicles use electrical equipment such as lights and fans, and those thoughts led him to try to find a way for batteries to charge while the vehicle runs. He said he thought for many years about how a battery vehicle could run without charging.

He said developing the technology in its first phase cost him about Tk 300,000. If commercial production and marketing become possible, he estimates each vehicle could cost between Tk 150,000 and Tk 200,000 to build.

The vehicle is currently being used for students at an English-version school he runs, he said. He claims that if the technology can be taken into successful commercial production, it could open new possibilities for battery-powered transport in the country.

Golam Saeed Khan said if the government cooperates to launch the technology commercially, it could be spread across the country. He wants his invention to serve the people, and with proper patronage it could be improved further and marketed. He also claimed no one in the world had invented a vehicle of this technology before.

He claimed his inventive work did not begin with this car: in 1986, he said, he invented the country's first IPS (instant power supply) and holds a certificate for it, and received government support for a long time until it stopped after he went abroad.

He added that although he built the IPS, he did not copyright it, so when the IPS later reached the market it did not carry his name and he made no financial gain from the invention. He said he has received several national-level awards in recognition of his inventive work.

Local residents Monir Hossain Murad and Shah Alam Mallik said his inventive work has created interest in the area and many people are curious about the car. They believe that if the invention's effectiveness is properly tested and support is given at government and private levels, there could be scope for further work on it.