I guess I was about 12 years old (1970) when I made a crude drawing of my design for an electric car. At school we had been told that oil was running out and I had been bought a new bicycle as a reward for passing the 11-plus exam, which allowed me to go to Grammer School. My bike was a 'state of the art' Raleigh RSW 16 in blue. It had 16 inch white 'balloon' tyres, 3 speed twist grip gears, a rear drum brake, and a front 'dynohub' that powered the front and rear lights.
It was the dynohub that impressed me the most as it was a built it generator incorporated into the front wheel hub. This set me thinking - why couldn't an electric car have something simiilar built into all four wheel hubs in order to generate electricity to help charge the batteries on the move? My next 'innovation' was to have solar panels incorporated into the bonnet, roof and boot. Thus my dynohubs, which would actually have been more efficient alternators rather than dynamos, and solar panels would help extend the range of the car, plus the solar panels would also help to re-charge the batteries when it was parked in daylight.
I wish I had kept the drawing, but it's probaly just as well I didn't go into the electric car business, as oil stubbornly refused to run out. However, clearly I was 40 years ahead of my time as oil has now reached $126 per barrel and the electric car is now looking much more like a vialble option for journeys of around 40 to 100 miles per day.
Way back in 1899, a French electric car named 'La Jamais Contente,' driven by Belgian Camille Jenatzy, reached the then record speed of 105.882 km/h (65.792 mph).
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
For the subsequent 100 years or so, the internal combustion engine has dominated car technology. However, this may be about to change. I'd certainly like to get my hands on a new Mitsubishi i MiEV to replace the small Peugeot 1007 I use on my 40 mile round trip to work and back.
Photo from the GreenCarSite
The i MiEV is due in the UK around 2009/10 at an estimated cost of £15,000. The range will be up to 100 miles on a full charge, with a 0 to 60mph time of just 9.5 seconds and a top speed of 85mph. 10,000 miles should cost about £50 in electricity, compared to around £1000 in petrol for the internal combustion engined version.
For those with around $100,000 to spend, there are sports cars such as the Tesla Roadster available. No doubt as production numbers increase, prices of electric cars will become even more affordable. Personal mobility and climate concerns solved!?
Paul Biggs
Woody - "Ender, people who can afford the Humvees and large SUVs don't care about gas prices."
Yes but on average as the wannabe Hummer drivers that cannot really afford them drop off the list then the car fleet size will drop eventually.
"It totaled my Volvo, which is supposed to be very safe and sturdy, but it only required that the rear bumper be replaced on the SUV."
Because being sturdy is not the right way to avoid injury - crumpling is. Who cares about a car? If it is insured it can be replaced.
The SUV owner could be in a bad accident and die bleeding out from internal injury while the 'written off' Volvo's occupants are OK in their sturdy safety cell.
Ender, people who can afford the Humvees and large SUVs don't care about gas prices. Those vehicles will continue to be out there hunting small cars and motorcycles.
On cars vs. SUVs, my daughter rear-ended an SUV. It totaled my Volvo, which is supposed to be very safe and sturdy, but it only required that the rear bumper be replaced on the SUV.
Ender
Being a classical music fan, I take your word for it!
Never realised, since I never been to a pop concert.
Johnathan - "You realise how big a number 1MW is?"
Sure. Take a 500 can light show with the average lights being 2kW. Some of the blinders are 4kW. Add in the big screens and the sound system and this can easily be 1MW.
The large bands get special wiring if there is not enough from the venue. Most large venues have multiple 3 phase power feeds - even when I did it with small local bands I had a 3 phase lighting controller.
MIRA Debuts "Plugless Plug-In Hybrid"TM.
Automotive designers MIRA have unveiled a retro-fit hybrid conversion that unlocks the potential to save 61% on fuel costs and lower tailpipe emissions by 39% without designing a new car.
The hybrid conversion with a novel removable battery pack upgrades existing vehicles to the technology some concept cars are showcasing at this year's motor shows. A technology demonstrator has been built around a popular b-segment car to show the potential of the technology. As a "plug-in hybrid" the vehicle can charge its batteries by running its engine or by plugging into the mains. Plug-in hybrids are at the vanguard of new vehicle design; yet MIRA has taken the idea one step further to make the concept far more practical and useful for motorists.
As a concept evaluation tool the Hybrid 4 wheel drive Vehicle (H4V) was never destined for public sale, so the project received support through the Energy Saving Trust's Low Carbon R&D programme which is funded by the Department for Transport.
Derek Charters, MIRA's Advanced Powertrain Manager explains the rationale behind the project: "Despite advances in powertrain technology you can still obtain electricity from your domestic provider far cheaper and greener than you can produce it via an automotive combustion engine, so „plug-in‟ hybrids make sense. With this project we‟ve removed the primary limitation of the „plug-in hybrid‟ concept by allowing the battery pack to come to the mains, rather than having to park right next to a socket ...which is more than a little difficult if you live in a terraced house or flat."
The H4V project was conceived to show just what's possible with a regular car and some specialist knowledge. Derek explains further: "MIRA‟s hybrid vision is to lower tailpipe emissions and deliver better fuel efficiency than an equivalent diesel, at a diesel level „on-cost1‟; whilst delivering driver delight features such as an EV mode and "two-pedal" town driving."
This is precisely what MIRA have done with H4V. The demonstrator vehicle is based on the popular Skoda Fabia, instantly differentiating itself from the standard model by the unique H4V badge and aerodynamic modifications. The 50/50 hybrid derives power jointly from a 60Kw petrol engine at the front and two 35KW inboard motors powering the rear wheels though MIRA's clever e-differential. Overall, the H4V differentiates itself from the standard model by returning 64mpg2, as measured on the EU drive cycle. Whilst general levels of performance, such as top speed and acceleration are similar to standard.
The car boasts a battery pack arranged into 3 portable cassettes, each capable of storing 30KW. These storage units could also power external devices, including a range of lifestyle accessory items. The very latest nano-particle technology has been applied to increase the energy density of the already ‘high-tech' Lithium Ion Phosphate batteries. This ensures the energy pack is as lightweight and compact as possible, whilst delivering superior voltage stability over the charge range. The same Li-Ion Phosphate battery technology is evident in the separate low voltage circuit used to start the engine, insuring the car's impeccable ‘lead free' green credentials.
The battery pack in one of the key ingredients of a modern hybrid. With so much effort and expense being invested in the battery pack it makes sense to use it in as many places as possible, not just the car itself. The ultimate aim of the project team is to see the power pack transferred from the car into a range of other devices, which could include camping equipment for SUV variants, or redeployed to power electric jet skis or quad bikes.
Despite the impressively green credentials, headline grabbing hyper-economic mpg figures were never the aim for H4V - to do that the team would logically select a more frugal base vehicle. The selection of the base car is largely unimportant, as far as the technology is concerned; so long as the donor vehicle's specification included modern features, such as a throttle by-wire system and some other basics, to avoid duplicating unnecessary workload. The project code of H4V, standing simply for ‘a' Hybrid 4wd Vehicle re-enforces the generic nature of the upgrade.
A 39% improvement is beyond what most traditional hybridisation systems would normally deliver, so MIRA have retuned the engine and created a custom calibration that works in harmony with the electrically driven axel to deliver additional synergies beyond the simple fuel savings possible via ‘torque-neutral' hybridisation schemes.
A regenerative braking system makes its debut on a MIRA hybrid. Derek explains why: "The viability of such systems requires careful analysis to ensure that the mass penalty is outweighed by the energy recovery potential. The technology has now matured to deliver a tangible economy benefit, not just a „feature‟ for the marketers."
The frugal powertrain is supported by a new aero pack, further reducing drag by 8% to achieve a Cd of just 0.299. Aerodynamics makes only a small contribution to EU drive cycle calculations, due to the cycle's overall low speed character, so it's often marginalised by those wishing to bias development towards attributes that make the most difference at low speed. Thankfully, MIRA's approach goes some way to deliver a vehicle that lives up to consumer expectations on real roads.
1 The typical on-cost for a diesel powertrain is approximately £2000.
2 64mpg combined cycle - a 61% improvement relative to the standard model. [Standard model 39mpg combined.]
April '08
"You are talking about power enough for 50 000, households here"
Should read 50!
In reality it never can happen, not many homes use this amount of energy even if wired for 3 phase.
1MW is an awful lot of power, let's say the band has access to 3 phase 415V you are still talking about nearly 800 Amp. That is a lot of amps and heavy wiring needed.
Sorry too many zeros in households!