EVFuture News

Beijing Introduces Public Charging Stations

2012-01-30 17:43:48

China's largest electric vehicle (EV) charging and battery swapping station has been put into operation in Beijing, sources with the city's power supply authorities said Sunday.

Gaoantun charging station, located in the eastern Beijing district of Chaoyang, has been installed with more than 10 types of EV charging or battery swapping machines, covering all charging modes that are available in China.

Public charging stations_a reality at last

2011-12-08 02:54:34

In our past features and posts we have touched upon two factors that were slowing the EV movement in our opinion: more efficient and affordable storage technologies (batteries) and the absence of a public charging infrastructure.

The video news item below ( see link) is an optimistic one and shows that things are beginning to move after all in the right direction. First it was the Japanese who had the vision to see the vital connection between mass EV acceptance and public charging facilities. Now GE have started creating what could be America's first public EV charging network to cater to a growing number of electric and hybrid car users.

Electric car owners are doing some math themselves and feel that at 4$ per charge the economics will always be in favor of electric power despite gasoline prices coming down a little in the past weeks across the United States. Somehow it is beginning to sink in that electricity is both cheaper and cleaner.

We could be witnessing the early days of sustainable motoring finally!

For a clearer picture of this significant development view this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8jnBFhEljQ&feature=youtube_gdata

Zero Motorcycle, 114 Mile Range

2011-11-15 17:57:03

A California electric motorcycle manufacturer will start selling motorcycles that are capable of a range of over 100 miles thanks to a new power pack that should outlast the bike itself, plus newly adopted energy capture technology. The new Z-Force power pack has 95 per cent more energy density than previous models, enabling the company’s 9kWh Zero S model to travel 114 miles before needing a recharge – albeit at a maximum speed of 88 mph that will get you little cred from the local two-wheeled community. The engines also now come with brushless motors and regenerative braking systems to recapture some of the power used when slamming on the anchors. The company claims the power pack will drop only 20 per cent of its capacity after 3,000 charges, which will provide an estimated range of over 300,000 miles – close to the expected lifetime of the bike and/or the rider. The company has five sit-up-and-beg designs for the eco-minded, including the Zero S and DS sports models, an XU model for city driving (basically smaller and lighter, with a 42-mile range), and two electric dirt bikes, the X and MX. They will all go on sale, from between $7,000 to $13,000, in February.
External Link To Website

The Ryno Electric Unicycle

2011-11-15 17:38:11

If you love turning heads when you take a ride around town, then the Ryno electric unicycle is probably for you. Designer Chris Hoffmann had his eyes set on the Segway crowd when he started work on the Ryno, and he has come up with quite the interesting looking one-wheeled auto. The cost for a pre-production Ryno is a whopping $25,000 and Hoffmann already has five orders, but he expects the market model to cost about $3,500. The production model will have a top speed of 25 mph, a range of up to 30 miles and an impressive 25-inch thick tire.

Gordon Murray's 350MPG EV

2011-11-15 17:33:13

Gordon Murray, designer of the truly insane McLaren F1, swept the board at the RAC Future Car Challenge -- but for something much more sensible. It's the 1,500lbs T.27 EV, the little wonder in the picture above, which just carried two people the 57.13 miles from Brighton to London on just 64p ($1.20) of electricity. Compared to a petrol car that would be the equivalent of getting 350MPG. It's believed the T.27 can easily make 100 miles on a single four-hour charge and scooped eleven awards on the day, including most efficient and best EV. Murray is still waiting on a manufacturer to sign on to produce the things, but thanks to his super efficient iStream process, they could pop up for sale soon after -- which can only be good news for anyone who wants a commuting vehicle with something of a racing pedigree.

World�s first manned flight with an electric multicopter

2011-11-12 17:24:13

At the end of October 2011, Thomas Senkel of e-volo had completed a series of unmanned tests and was ready for the first manned flight on an airstrip in the southwest of Germany. The flight lasted one minute and 30 seconds, after which the constructor and test pilot stated:

"The flight characteristics are good natured. Without any steering input it would just hover there on the spot".

This could be the future of flight, piloting a device as simple as a car.

Electric bikes in food delivery

2011-10-28 03:46:47

A leading Italian pizzeria (Tanto) in Auroville (near Pondicherry) comissioned EVFuture to build its first electric bike for pizza home delivery this summer. The 'Tanto Humvee' as it is called is a popular sight 0n the roads of Auroville silently going about its business of delivering delectable firewood Italian pizzas. This vehicle is based on our reputed Humvee electric bike design known for its ruggedness,comfort and reliability. Its versatility makes It adaptable to carrying pizzas as much as it does people.
The Tanto Humvee is a reminder of the potential that electric bikes hold for a large range of small-medium business - from pizzerias to couriers - mushrooming in India today. It is a symbol of a new era in transportation - silent, safe,quick and non polluting. Read More

2011 World Solar Challenge

2011-10-17 18:05:48

The first solar racing car and its support fleet will depart Darwin to traverse the 3000+ km to Adelaide through the Australian outback. It will be followed at two-minute intervals by 36 other racing teams, from twenty countries from all over the world. With the top cars and teams being very, very close to each other, it's sure to be a very exciting race. The fastest teams are expected to reach the official finish line just outside Adelaide late Wednesday or early Thursday (local time), after which the teams will continue on for the traditional dive in the fountain at Victoria Square in Adelaide.
Follow the race here

The Age of Blue cars!

2011-10-17 18:06:08

Car pooling is not a new idea or practice. It has been in vogue for many years and has faithful adherents and practitioners in America and Europe.

However, 'Autolib' is a first of its kind. It is a scheme that rents super mini electric cars to the residents of Paris on a membership basis with a rent plan that is as novel as the program itself. Its promoters - a French billionaire whose business interests include clean technologies and a visionary mayor of the city of Paris - decided that Autolib was a way to reduce pollution in cities while slowly encouraging the adoption of new and cleaner forms of mobility.

'Autolib' is a car sharing initiative worth watching. It has the potential to usher in a new blue automotive age. Read more

Training a future generation of electric car engineers

2011-09-22 04:35:16

Where will we find our future engineers and builders of electric cars and transportation systems?

Despite the slow rise and acceptance of electric vehicles and all the pointers to its eventual replacement of gasoline powered ones, there is no long term preparation of intellectual resources to meet this new paradigm in transportation and mobility. There is concern over this in many quarters. Eco car 2 is a competition based model (partnering industry and the government) in America,which apart from challenging a cluster of US universities with some hard core goals, is also hoping to stimulate and goad technical institutions worldwide to start to prepare full fledged courses and curricula in the design and development of electric vehicles for an electric generation rapidly coming of age.

This should be of prime concern for a country like India (and China) where electric vehicles can play a big role in reducing smoke and sound pollution. It also holds the potential to offer cheaper and better modes of intra city transit for its millions. Read More HERE