Wind-electric vehicle breaks world records, shows off technology developed by Evonik
HOPEWELL, Jan 31, 2013 (Menafn - The Progress-Index - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Could your car drive across a continent for less than it costs to buy 5 gallons of gas?
A lightweight electric vehicle built by Evonik Goldschmidt Corp. can.
The Wind Explorer traveled roughly 3,000 miles across Australia for under 15 -- about 200 miles further than the distance between New York City and Los Angeles. During the coast-to-coast journey, the vehicle produced virtually zero emissions.
Evonik Goldschmidt Corp. showed off its recorded-breaking vehicle Wednesday at its administrative center in Hopewell. The vehicle was on display to prove Evonik chemicals can be used for cutting-edge technologies that require less energy.
The Wind Explorer weighs 200 pounds and carries another 200 pounds in lithium ion batteries and a 40 pound kite. It completed its trip from Albany to Sydney, Australia, with a total distance of approximately 3,000 miles from Jan. 26 to Feb. 12, 2011, by German TV host Dirk Gion and General Electric Engineer Stefan Simmer. According to Senior Scientist Bill Bunting, Australia was picked as a test location because it has uncrowded highways and coastal wind, helping the kite. The pair spent less than 15 on electricity.
So what makes the vehicle environmental friendly?
According to Evonik, chemicals such as Separion ceramic separators and Litarion electrodes are used in the lithium-ion battery cells, which get energy from a portable wind turbine. The lithium-ion battery technology is being used in new vehicles by Daimler.
The car body contains Evonik's Rohacell sandwich carbon fiber. Bunting said the foam material made from Evonik chemicals is similar to helicopter rotor blades. The foam car body is covered with a carbon fiber skin, making it extremely lightweight. Although there are no plans to manufacture the Wind Explorer for commercial use, the technology was a chemical breakthrough for Evonik.
"It's adding one more piece to the puzzle," Bunting said. "We may be waiting for other car technology for us to drive lightweight cars. Lightweight materials could be beneficial to future computerized cars."
According to Evonik, their silica-saline technology is used in both the Wind Explorer's tires and industrial tires. Evonik said the technology reduces rolling resistance, which lowers fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The vehicle traveled 175-225 miles per day.
"The Wind Explorer shows that creating environmentally friendly and resource efficient automobiles with high-tech chemical products is possible," said Dr. Reinhold Brand, president of Evonik Goldschmidt Corp., in a statement. "Our long term goal is for low-rolling resistance tires, lightweight materials and lithium-ion batteries to become the standard in automotive engineering, paving the way for a world of resource-efficient transportation."
According to Evonik, world records were broken for crossing a continent by a wind and lithium-ion battery powered vehicle for the first time, longest overall distance covered by an exclusively wind-powered automobile, and the longest distance covered in 36 hours by an electric and wind-powered vehicle.
"Just like any other broken world record, it shows how far we can go," Bunting said.
The Wind Explorer will be showcased at the Science Museum of Virginia from Feb. 8 to 10. For more information, go to www.evonik.com/north-america or call 804-541-8658.
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