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rick.merritt
I wonder what FedEx and UPS think about EVs? I hear the post office is ...
Duane Benson
I really think that a lot of the EV research folks are barking up the wrong ...
Battery subsystem eyes X Prize, design wins
Rick Merritt
6/23/2010 11:30 AM EDT
SAN JOSE, Calif.--A team competing for $2.5 million in the Automotive X Prize is in the final stages of developing a battery management system for their entry that they hope someday will power a range of commercial electric vehicles.
The E-Rex is an electric version of the $60,000, three-wheeled T-Rex race car from Campagna Motors, powered by a lithium ion phosphate battery instead of a gas engine. It is being developed by a team of volunteers working in San Jose and Ottawa who formed startup OptaMotive to design the electric vehicle.
Engineers working on E-Rex say they will make the car commercially available, at a small premium over the cost of its gas-powered cousin, whether or not they win the X Prize to be awarded in September.
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| Michael Worry, a founder of startup OptaMotive, talks about the E-Rex with other designers. |
"Today gas vehicles are cheaper than EVs, but only because there has been years of work on combustion engines," said Michael Worry, an OptaMotive founder. "In the long run EVs will be cheaper because they have dramatically fewer parts and thus less maintenance—our only liquid is windshield washer fluid," he said.
The E-Rex has a maximum speed of 160 MPH and can rev from 0 to 60 MPH in less than five seconds. To win the $2.5 million in its two-seater class of the X Prize, its builders must show the car can deliver the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon, give off less than 200 grams carbon dioxide and travel 100 miles or more on a charge.
The $10 million competition started with 111 teams in three categories last year and is now down to 24, only eight of them left in the E-Rex's class. Worry expressed pride in the volunteer team's achievements so far against competitors including a startup that has received $18 million in venture financing to build a commercial EV.
"We passed an emergency double-lane change safety test on our first attempt, and they did it 20 times without passing and once their door fell off," Worry said.
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Duane Benson
7/8/2010 11:39 AM EDT
I really think that a lot of the EV research folks are barking up the wrong tree. At least, the public faces seem to be. One of the massive problems is lack of charging infrastructure. Another big problem is the variability in driving habits, making it very difficult to make an EV that is economically viable to a large enough segment of the market.
Skip the consumers and go to fleet operations, such as delivery. You don't need a broad infrastructure because the vehicles will be recharged back at the shop. You don't have to worry about predictability, because the vehicles generally have pre-planned routes. Right there, you've removed two of the biggest obstacles and can focus on manufacturing and refining the vehicle instead of the infrastructure.
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rick.merritt
8/17/2010 3:27 PM EDT
I wonder what FedEx and UPS think about EVs? I hear the post office is interested but lacks a budget.
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