January 3, 2012
2011 was a very good year for Edison2.
Ron Mathis lectured on the Very Light Car at NASA Langley and the NASA Goddard Space Center. Brad delivered the keynote address at the worldwide launch of Siemens Solid Edge ST4. Oliver was as panelist in the Jefferson Innovation Summit, and spoke to the Society of Allied Weight Engineers and at the Automotive Weight Reduction Conference. The VLC visited the Detroit Auto Show, the DC Auto Show, the Louisville Auto Show and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and was accepted into the permanen... more »
October 19, 2011
One of the cool things we get with official EPA test results for our electric car is instantaneous voltage and current draw readings. Since the eVLC runs on DC electricity, it’s simple to calculate power: it’s voltage multiplied by current.
Suppose at some point on the test the car draws 53 Amps at 107 Volts, the power is 53 x 107 = 5671 Watts or 5.671 kW. There’s a direct conversion from this to horsepower: 1 hp = 0.746 kW so in our example we’re using 5.671/0.746 = 7.6 horsepower.
The voltage and current readings taken... more »
October 12, 2011
Our prototype electric Very Light Car (eVLC) was recently in an EPA-accredited lab for the full gamut of certified economy and range tests. Often this kind of thing is shrouded in secrecy but we thought it might be interesting to publish and discuss the actual results sheet (click here for a pdf).
Starting in the top left corner, we have Roush Industries’ logo. Jack Roush is well known as a successful NASCAR team owner and at the time of writing one of his drivers, Carl Edwards, is leading the Sprint Cup series standings. Less well known ... more »
September 16, 2011
Audi Urban ConceptThe Frankfurt Auto Show debuted some concept cars of particular interest to us: the Audi Urban Concept, the VW NILS and the Opel RAKe. These have more than a passing resemblance to our 2010 XPrize winning Very Light Car and our new electric VLC. Light weight and low aerodynamic drag are absolute virtues for auto efficiency, and we are pleased to have Audi, VW and Opel on this path with us. But while the similarities are readily apparent, the differences are important.
These cars are all very light. However, the Very... more »
August 29, 2011
Aneesh Chopra, Assistant to the President and Chief Technology Officer at the White House, is a no-BS guy who wants to get big things done.
Needless to say, we all got along just fine.
We were very fortunate to meet with Mr. Chopra and his team and planned accordingly. After introductions and establishing the groundwork we already understood - that even in the Executive Office of the President there are no magic pots of money and the triad of vision, execution and accountability reign supreme - the Edison2 team dove right into wha... more »
August 26, 2011
A problem in today’s world of automobiles is how to fairly compare the efficiency of vehicles with differing types of engines and fuels. One solution is Miles per Gallon Energy Equivalent (MPGe), used by the X Prize for their automotive competition and by the EPA to rate electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. MPGe is a useful standard: for example, it brought the Nissan Leaf’s initial claim of 367 MPG down to a more realistic 99 MPGe.
MPGe compares the energy content of various fuels to that contained in a gallon of gasoline: approx... more »
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