Electric car concept drives progress with extended 800 kilometers range
Baku, July 17 (AZERTAC). Danish electric car manufacturer ECOmove has announced plans to develop an electric car based on the company’s QBEAK city car that will feature a whopping 500 mile driving range. Dubbed the Modular Energy Carrier Concept (MECC), the highway-capable EV will feature a flexible, ultra-lightweight design that can be adapted to suit different functions.
Despite their green credentials, electric cars still come up short against their petrol-powered cousins when it comes to range -how far they go before the battery needs recharging.
But a new "range-extended" electric vehicle (EV) equipped with the latest fuel cell technology is promising to close the gap going 500 miles (800 kilometers) without refueling, say its developers.
Bringing together the expertise of three Danish companies, the Modular Energy Carrier concept (MECc) utilizes bio-methanol- a biofuel which can be harvested from a range of sources including natural gas - to improve the competitiveness of EVs.
"Bio-methanol is a very good way to power cars because it has a very good CO2 profile, much better than diesel or gasoline," says Mogens Lokke, CEO of ECOmove, designers of the innovative "QBEAK" car which will carry the technology.
"In combination with the way we built the car which is really lightweight (425 kilograms) we can get the 500-mile range."
This is considerably more than Nissan's battery-powered Leaf which maxes out at 138 miles (222 kilometers) and even the Chevrolet Volt -- a battery/gasoline "range-extended" EV - which has a range of 375 miles (603 kilometers) according to the U.S. automaker.
ECOmove's award-winning QBEAK incorporates patented in-wheel electric motors which deliver a top speed of 75mph (120kph), but it's the novel chassis design which is propelling the project forward.
The project was recently awarded funding from the Danish government's Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program and ECOmove hope to launch a battery-powered QBEAK with a range of 186 miles (300 kilometers) later this year.
A battery/fuel cell demonstration model is expected to arrive sometime in 2013.
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