In the global automobile industry, we have seen a clearer picture of the business that has transformed from combustion engine vehicles to be greener ones such as hybrid vehicles that run on both gasoline and electric power. Then, the global trend shifts towards the increased adoption of pure electric vehicles. The government of each country around the world is preparing to support this trend with its accommodating policies and promote the use of electric vehicles. This is not just because it is a trend, but the switch to electric vehicles may become an option that responds to the need for vehicles that run on new alternative energies which help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions, reduce environmental impact, and drives the world’s transition to a low-carbon society in the future.

After the success of the board game design contest under the “Energy on Board by BANPU B-Sports Thailand” project last year with the topic of “Energy Sustainability”, Banpu Public Company Limited continued the project again in the second year with a new topic of “Driving Thailand's E-mobility”. Apart from aiming to encourage the young generation to pay attention to the up-and-coming trends of electric vehicles and use creativity to extend their knowledge to develop board games, this project also reinforces Banpu's sustainable business operation approach under the Greener & Smarter strategy to move towards a greener and smarter energy transition.

After the project application was closed and 10 finalists were selected, 31 students from 15 universities joined the workshop to gain knowledge about electric vehicles and learn more about board game development and design by experts from both the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, Haupcar Company Limited which is the first car-sharing platform developer and service provider in Thailand, together with a team from Banpu's e-mobility business unit and experts in the board game industry. The workshop allowed each team to gain knowledge and inspiration to pursue their excellence in designing electric vehicle’s board games.

During the workshop, Mr. Rattapon Sukhunthee, Head of Corporate Communications of Banpu Public Company Limited said “BANPU B-Sports Thailand project was created under a collaboration between Banpu and Board Game Night team. We have seen that board games are learning tools that become more and more popular among university students. Creating a board game for discussion and exchange of useful information or topics of common interest can be done in an interesting and creative way with less restriction. Therefore, we have organized this board game design contest to allow students to deeply learn great information they want to communicate in the board game through analytical thinking process. They can apply that knowledge gained in designing and developing board games to reach their goal in the contest which is to develop a board game that is both fun and allow players to learn about electric vehicles at the same time.”

Miss Kanokwan Jitchobtham, Senior Vice President - E-Mobility, Banpu Next Company Limited also shared the basic knowledge of electric vehicles with the students, “When we talk about the word 'electric vehicles’, it should include a wide range of vehicles, that is not limited only electric cars but also electric trucks, boats or electric drones. The electric vehicle industry in Thailand can grow with a clear goal; a policy that facilitates both infrastructure and service platform development; and knowledge and technology of the future. This requires us to be ready to adapt to change and to gain cooperation from all relating parties in order to be a driving force for the future of electric vehicles in Thailand and the transition to a low-carbon society in the near future. The important thing that Banpu would like to emphasize with the students is what should we do to drive the stable and sustainable growth of electric vehicles in Thailand.”

As for, Mr. Krisda Utamote, President of Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand, who joined the workshop to share knowledge about the trend of electric vehicle industry in Thailand, said, “Overall in the Thai electric vehicle industry, we have seen a number of automakers bringing hybrid vehicles as well as pure electric vehicles to the market for quite some time now. For the policy of the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee or EV Board, a clear goal and direction in promoting the future use of electric vehicles were addressed. With an aim to transform the Thai automotive industry to support a low-carbon society, the EV Board has introduced a 30/30 policy stating that by 2030, 30% of all domestically produced vehicles and 50% of registered vehicles must be Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV). And in Thailand, there must be at least 12,000 public fast-charging stations across the country within the same period. The EV Board also considers tax incentives and other benefits both with car manufacturers and consumers. Within the specified timeframe or by 2030, Thailand is expected to produce at least 725,000 electric passenger cars and pickup trucks per year. In addition, a BloombergNEF study estimated that electric vehicles will account for 50% of global new vehicle sales by 2035. With this information I’m telling you, we have seen undeniably electric vehicle trend in the world. Therefore, we must be prepared to deal with this change.”

The activity ended with some great advice from a board game designer Mr. X - Perus Saranurak from Wizards of learning page, developer of Pizza Master’s board game, who said, “The most important thing about designing board games is your passion. When we have a profound interest in doing it, we would want to find as much information as we can to create inspiration. Like when I was making my own games, I watched a lot of horror movies and capture the details from them to inspire in my board game design. To join a competition like this, you all can do the same. If we're going to make a board game on the topic of electric vehicles, I think, there are many interesting aspects about this industry. Try to pick one aspect and deeply and thoroughly seek its insights. I think you guys can find unique inspiration that could lead to the creation of new and unprecedented board games.”

Come and follow this year’s board game design contest under the Energy on Board by BANPU B-Sports Thailand project with the theme of “Driving Thailand's E-mobility”. Let’s see how the competition goes and how will each team think and create a board game. In the meantime, those who are interested can follow more details and news from the project at BANPU B-Sports Thailand Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BanpuBSportsThailand.

About Energy on Board by BANPU B-Sports Thailand

Banpu Public Company Limited has organized BANPU B-Sports Thailand for the fourth consecutive year, with the aim of supporting board games, a creative learning tool, to be more widely known, especially among young generations because board games help develop soft skills that are essential in current life and work. In 2021, the Company is committed to enhancing the knowledge and understanding about “developing the electric vehicle industry in Thailand and various factors affecting the use of electric vehicles in the country” for the young generation and the general public. Therefore, the “Energy on Board” project has been organized to allow university students to compete in a board game design contest with “Driving Thailand's E-mobility” as the main subject.

About Banpu

Banpu Public Company Limited is an international versatile energy provider with 3 core groups of businesses: energy resources, energy generation and energy technology in 10 countries – Thailand, Indonesia, China, Australia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Singapore, Japan, the United States of America and Vietnam.