skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Push up those glasses and refresh the lead in your mechanical pencils, Renault has a new accessory to transport your nerdrobe to the data center. Meet the Kangoo be bop Z.E. plug-in prototype. While the technology inside (Lithium Ion batteries with a 100-mile range and 30 minute recharge to 80% capacity -- or full charge in 20 minutes using a proposed 400V universal standard plug) is very similar to the vehicles that Renault expects to release on the road in 2011, and its appearance matches that of the Kangoo be bop hitting European roads this spring, it's the design detail that captured our attention. Zoom in on the gallery below and you'll quickly see that the Z.E. prototype (and future concept) is heavily influenced by the look of printed circuit boards, or "printed circuit motifs" as claimed by Renault's press release. Go ahead, firmly embrace your geekiness without guilt. Remember, you're a rock star.
It's massive, costs $500,000, and is just a prototype; but you're looking at a possible solution for swapping out heavy car batteries from future electric vehicles. Kind of important if you're hoping to take your EV on a trip a bit further than the supermarket or city center without having to stop for a lengthy recharge. This switch station, unveiled in Japan by Better Place, can swap out a spent battery in less time than it takes to refuel the tank in that baby-killer of a car you hold so precious. These battery swap stations are just part of the enormous infrastructure required to support Better Place's subscription approach to electric vehicles -- infrastructure easily estimated to cost $250 million or so for countries like Israel or Denmark on up to the $1 Billion already pledged by San Francisco Bay Area mayors. Better Place admits that the swap technology is a work in progress but hopes to have 150,000 charging stations and about 100 battery swap stations deployed in Israel by 2011. Check the video after the break.
Electric vehicles are about as far from ubiquitous as a burgeoning technology could be, but that's not stopping Elektromotive from thinking about future profits. Said firm has just revealed what it's calling the first-ever billable charge station for EVs, a three phase chargepoint that can supply up to 32 amps at 240V. The station itself is dubbed the Elektrobay, which is equipped with a 2-way GSM service called EBConnect; the latter enables users with specialized key fobs to simply wave their key in front of the pole, charge and be invoiced at a later time. Think PayPass, but for EV charging. We're told that the new billing system will be installed in all 160 of the Elektrobay units in the UK, and you can bank on it being baked into all future installations -- so much for free juice, huh?
General Motors has just cut the ribbon, metaphorically at least, on the production of the first genuineChevy Volt integration vehicle. Unlike previous versions, which have been "developments mules" made using parts from the Malibu / Cruze lines, this will look (and hopefully feel) 100 percent like what the company plans to start pimping out this November. The pre-production model will be put through the paces in case the design needs to be refined and tweaked before going full steam ahead. GM is sticking pretty close to its original plan of building at a rate of ten a week by mid-July, with "several hundred more" going into production early next year, and with any luck, it'll be packing somestandardized EV plug by then.
