A123 Systems - Enabling the EV Revolution

A123 Systems is a privately-held company that was founded with $100 million worth of funding and is based on MIT's efforts to develop better battery technology. Limitations of current battery technology are really the limits to electric vehicle development, period, as well as a good portion of the cost (Tesla's battery system cost for their own packs is rumored to be around $25,000 per vehicle for the upcoming $98,000 roadster). What A123 has done is taken a nano-scale material developed at MIT and given it the trademarked name "Nanophosphate" technology. They were named one of the two battery system development partners for GM's future plug in dubbed the Volt, and they are a more advanced competitor of Tesla's in-house lithium ion technology that has been recently licensed by Tesla to Think, a Norwegian manufacturer of small electric vehicles.

Toro Electric Mower, Back From the Dead

I purchased a $375 Toro Recycler cordless lawn mover when I bought my first home in 1998. The yard was small, about .17 acres (less the footprint of the house and the pool), and the mower had no troubles cutting the front and back yards on one charge. If I let it go too long in between, or if the grass was wet from rain or sprinklers, that was a different story, but even then, I could just wait for the grass to dry or give up and mow the front yard in the morning and the back in the afternoon. Life was good: zero maintenance, zero gas can, zero emissions, and almost zero noise, so I didn't have to wait for it to not be "too early" to mow on my weekends!

The next house 2 years later was slightly more to mow, and it was rare to mow it all on one charge. However, this was largely attributed to the original 24 volt battery pack (4 6V cells strapped together and connected with wired terminals) needing replacement, as it didn't hold as much of a charge as it used to. I had a hard time finding Toro's exact part at various lawn equipment dealers, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc., but I eventually ordered over the phone from one and had it shipped. Spent around $70, including shipping. That battery lasted a few years too, but my yard was just big enough to require staying on top of it and not letting it get too long in order to finish the job on one overnight charge.

When that battery pack started to die after a few more years, I broke down and bought a $225 non-self-propelled 5.5 hp mower from Sam's with a Honda gas motor. That thing rocked - SO much power, SO many emissions, SO much noise - and I could let the yard go for a full 2 weeks, mow it as soon as the sprinklers cut off, whatever - NOTHING could stop it! But when this spring rolled around, and my 3-year old beast was starting to have occasional starting-pull hesitation at the end of last year's mowing season, and I needed to fill up my 3 gallon gas can with $3/gallon gas and have it slosh around in my trunk and then prepare to change the oil on the mower, I decided to dig the ol' Toro (never could bring myself to part with it!) out of the shed. I checked the battery specs, went to a Batteries Plus location with one of the cells in hand to check for size, and bought a replacement set of 4 6-v cells - this time, however, I upped the amp hour rating. Same size cells, same connectors, same current, but more amp hours (battery capacity). It costs me almost 100 bucks for the set, but now that thing is almost as invincible as the gas beast. And after 9 years of ownership, still zero maintenance (I REALLY need a new blade, but that's for another day), and a more powerful set of batteries, it runs more effectively than the day I bought it in 1998!

Nissan To Go Beyond Hybrids, To Pure Electric Cars

An article in yesterday's Wall St. Journal had some words from Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn at a media roundtable in Bangkok. In his discussion of Nissan taking the lead in lithium ion battery technology for autos, which is critical for efficiency gains in range, charge time and performance, he questions why the development would only focus on hybrids rather than going all the way to full electrics with "zero emissions of anything." Couldn't have said it better myself!

72% Increase Per Year for Electric Hybrid Sales

"Sales of hybrid electric vehicles have increased an average of 72 percent a year for the past five years," says the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy in a June 20, 2007 press release. The release also contains data related to overall benefits to the nation's fuel supplies that are directly related to the efficient fuel use of hybrids. The numbers are small, but growing rapidly on a percentage basis each year.

Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge

Each year, Dell sponsors a solar car race in Texas. Every other year, the race route alternates between a closed track course at the Texas Motor Speedway just north of Fort Worth, which is the 200,000 person venue that holds NASCAR and other large races in Texas, and cross-country events. This year's route takes the school-aged teams of entrants from a starting line in Round Rock, TX (Dell Computer's hometown north of Austin) all the way to New York, over several days beginning Monday, July 16.

There are pre-race activities over the weekend leading up to the race, which I will attend with my own children and report on in this space! Above is a picture of last year's entrants at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Electric Outboard - 3HP Equivalent

Briggs and Stratton now produces what they've named the ETek Electric Motor System, which is an electric outboard boating motor that's more powerful and more efficiently engineered (housing, prop design, etc.) than electric trolling motors. The ETek has 150 lbs of thrust, which B&S is calling the equivalent of a 3 h.p. gas motor; this mixed terminology gets tricky though, as thrust lbs and horsepower measure different things, and a 3 h.p. electric motor would produce more "push power" than a 3 h.p. gas motor would. Again, even THAT conversion gets into murky waters, with some claiming that a true 3 h.p. electric motor would give the same propulsion as up to a 5-8 h.p. gas motor.

Here's what we do know: it's available, it's made by Briggs and Stratton, it has a street price of under $2000, it has 150 lbs of thrust (electric trolling motors, which this is NOT, normally range from 20-70 lbs thrust and retail new for $100-$700 or so depending on the thrust and the control mechanism), and there is a less powerful but more expensive version branded by Minn Kota (huge purveyor of electric trolling motors) .

Lotus Design Does It Again

Lotus Design, which is in a partnership with Tesla Motors for the design of Tesla's electric sports car, is now designing a crossover electric vehicle for Zap! Lotus's official site is pretty much non-existent other than a gorgeous Lotus splashed on the main page, so details about their developing strategy are a bit sketchy. However, it appears that they are positioning themselves nicely to latch onto the coming all-electric vehicle boom.

All Things Moved By Electricity

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This is becoming a vast and, more importantly, well-organized repository for things related to movement by electricity. Land/water/air vehicles, motors, battery technology, you name it. Everything from how-to's and reviews to press releases, ideas and, of course, opinions. Explore, learn, keep yourself abreast of the latest developments, and contribute if you feel like it - all right here at Electric Motive!

Tom Worth