Auto racing, which has long served as both a testing ground and source of commercial development of automotive technology, is going green.
The formally sanctioned racing organization, FIA Formula E Championship, was formed for the express purpose of promoting sustainable automotive technology. In 2013, it commissioned a study that was designed to measure “the global value of Formula E to the EV [electric vehicle] market over the next 25 years (2015-2040) and its wider economic, environmental and social impact.” The authors of the study concluded that an all electric vehicle racing circuit would “help sell an additional 77 million EVs worldwide, save 4 billion barrels of oil and help make savings of 2 billion euros [$2.179 billion] in healthcare.”
Study in hand, in September 2014 the group kicked-off its inaugural Formula E race season in Beijing — the first stop on an international 10-race calendar. Appearing at Long Beach State University in advance of the 6th race, the Long Beach ePrix over this past weekend, Formula E Series CEO Alejandro Agag told students that the goal was to “fundamentally change how the public sees electric vehicles” and that “Formula E is the future.”
In its pre-event coverage of the April 4 race in Long Beach, California, the L.A.Times reported that fans would be spared the noise of ordinary racing and that, instead of refueling, pit stops would involve the changing out of batteries. Formula E Series cars have plenty of horsepower, however, accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in 3 seconds, with maximum speeds topping out near 150 mph.
FIA Formula E is not the first racing organization to raise environmental concerns. In 2013, the Indy 500 addressed emission concerns via race cars that utilized “ethanol blends.”
However, as observed by the Colombia Water Center, a number of “scientists argue that when the life cycle of ethanol production is compared to that of conventional gasoline, there may be no reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at all.” Citing an Argonne National Laboratory study, they note that corn ethanol is water intensive, consuming between “20 to 324 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol.”
Of course, if FIA Formula E really wishes to advance sustainable technology, it should rely upon photovoltaic solar to recharge the batteries used in its race cars. As noted by the Sierra Club, electric vehicles that rely upon coal power plants “may emit more CO2 and SO2 pollution than hybrid electric vehicles.”
Good for them!
Now, if only the Indy 500 folk would return to clean fuels like used for decades:
(A Methanol Economy Way Out Of Here). And California was doing the same:
(A Methanol Economy Way Out of Here – 6). We have been subverted by Oil-Qaeda for way too long.
I want one.
they already took care of that, all the charging is off grid.
See:
Formula E uses pollution-free glycerine to charge cars
British-based company Aquafuel, a specialist in renewable power innovation, is to supply the new FIA Formula E Championship with one of its highly-advanced glycerine (glycerol) generators, to be used to charge all 40 Spark-Renault SRT_01E cars at all race events.
Working with the UK’s leading fuel company Greenergy, Aquafuel has developed ground-breaking new technology for the combustion of glycerine in standard diesel generators. Located in the paddock, these generators will be used at all ePrix with the sole purpose of ensuring the Formula E cars are charged quickly, safely, fairly and without producing CO2 emissions.
Using a single generator, all 40 cars can be charged from flat to full in 50 minutes and with automated precise power controls, can be relied upon to ensure no car is given additional power.
-=snip=-
Re Cliff @3.
Thanks much for adding valuable information to this piece. I was not aware of the renewable source utilized to charge the Formula E batteries.