Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Electric Maxi-Scooter


I was thinking about the future of this blog this morning and trying to figure out how much time I'll be able to spend on it.  As a function of that, I started visiting some of the sponsors I get from Adsense. I came across the Electric Maxi-Scooter made by Vectrix, an American company. I'm not a motorcycle or scooter person but the specs on this electric scooter are pretty sweet for current battery technology, 60 mph top speed and 65mile range, charges in 2hrs.   I think it will be interesting to assess the impact an EEStor EESU would have on a vehicle like this and in general all products that come out where EEStor could have an impact.  In this case, Maxi uses a Nickel Metal Hydride battery.  Help me with the science here, Mr. or Mrs Reader, but utilizing the EEStor chart, it looks like if the Maxi were switched to an EESU, it's battery would weigh 5 times less, be 4 times smaller, charge of course 10 times faster and cost half as much.  So I guess if range were the optimal desire, then a Maxi with the same footprint EESU, could travel 260miles. Just what is needed in Beijing, if you've ever heard of the smog there. 

In any case, as EEStor drops it's stealth, it will be interesting to profile how it's technology could start coming into our lives. I know right now that is an upsetting idea for some readers who worry that EEStor's technology will never materialize but just stay tuned.

5 comments:

richterm said...

First!

Derek Bell said...

Was just doing a quick calculation on this yesterday. I was envisioning a high-performance, electric supermoto-style bike.

Figuring a 7.5 KW motor (about twice the power of the Vectrix), a sustained output of 4KW for 3 hours for a total of 12KW/h. (That would realistically give you MUCH more than 3 hours average riding.)

From the table, that would require an EESU that would be some 38.7 lbs. and about 8 liters in volume, and (high) production cost of $480.

All of this very do-able IMHO with the weight savings associated with the subtraction of fuel system, transmission, combustion engine, exhaust, etc.

Okay, you may have been first but...

Derek Bell said...

Just to be clear, the above specs would give you race-level performance and an unheard of endurance compared to an equivalent, available and up-ratable gas burner.

Knock down the above requirements by a third and your still looking at smoking any production 400 to 600cc supermoto.

my blog said...

Its good to know that people are turning to era of using electric transportation than opting for fuel.

Bo said...

I just bought myself a Vectrix a few days ago. I take delivery in about a week. The testdrive sold me right away!