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Mitsubishi Delivers to City of Vancouver, BC Hydro
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| Nov 20, 2009 - Back in April 2009, the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro signed on with Mitsubishi Canada for demonstration and evaluation of the world's first mass-produced, highway-capable electric car. Today the press were invited to preview the three brand new i-MiEVs provided by Mitsubishi. They are among the first i-MiEVs to be evaluated in North America. Right now they are made of Unobtainium and cost 4.8 million Yen each ($48,000 Cdn) but we are certain that will come way down when they are actually available for sale in North America! BC Hydro Press Release. CBC Video. Click on the link for the photo gallery. (more ...)
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EV Charging Guidelines - BC Hydro
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| BC Hydro has written a public document dated July 2009 with guidelines for planners and installers of EV charging points. This is the first of its kind in BC and all installers should read it. Click on the link to get the 64-page PDF. (more ...)
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Pulling the Copper
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| VEVA asked the city of Vancouver to develop regulations to mandate residential infrastructure for electric vehicle charging. The city responded positively and we now have thousands of homes wired for emerging electric vehicles. This is the story of what we went through to achieve this. We hope that others can learn from our experience and enable the infrastructure needed by emerging EVs. Build It and They Will Come. (more ...)
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New Report - BC grid could support 2.5m plug-in vehicles
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| The Province, Nov 4, 2009 - B.C. has enough underused capacity in its electrical grid to support almost 2.5 million plug-in vehicles, a new report says. If recharging took place in off-peak-demand periods, the grid would have enough juice to replace nearly every registered gas-powered vehicle in B.C., the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions said Tuesday. The Pacific Institute is a collaboration of four research-intensive universities in B.C. (more ...)
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UBC engineering students to retool Beetle with electric motor
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| Vancouver Sun, Oct 25, 2009 -
A two-month-old EV club consisting of undergraduate engineering students has garnered nearly $10,000 in grants to pursue a plan to drive an electric car along the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler during the Olympics — with a four-hour charge along the way — and then eventually around the world. (more ...)
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FVT Still in Contention for $10 Million X-Prize
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| Oct 2009 - The made-in-BC eVaro from FVT is now a qualified contender for the X-Prize. They just passed a rigorous review of their Business Plan and initial Technical Specifications.
The next stage is a technical review to take place Spring of 2010. Click the link to see all the teams. See also
Globe and Mail article (more ...)
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Alert Bay Commits to Carbon Neutrality With Purchase of Electric Truck
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| By Village of ALERT BAY - In 2008 the Village of Alert Bay made a commitment to the pursuit of carbon neutrality by signing the BC Climate Action Charter (the Charter). One of the ways in which the Village has pursued this goal is by purchasing a plug-in electric truck to replace an existing gas powered pick-up truck.
Alert Bay purchased their NZEV, Might-E Truck, from Canadian Electric Vehicles Ltd. of Errington, BC. The custom-built Alert Bay Might-E Truck is a small dump truck with a 1500 lb capacity that meets the Federal Government requirements for a Neighbourhood Zero Emission Vehicle (NZEV). The Might-E Truck is designed to be a low maintenance cost vehicle, but one that outperforms combustion vehicles both financially and mechanically. (more ...)
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240SX EV Emerges
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| Oct 21, 2009 - VEVA's Gerry Martselos has finished his long-time-coming 240SX conversion with 11-inch DC motor, 1000+ amp controller and 144 volts of Hawker Odyssey AGMs. Click on the link for the photo gallery. (more ...)
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Are we Ready For Electric Vehicles?
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| An article by Ark Tsisserev, Chief Electrical Inspector for the City of Vancouver starts out: "After a well known fiasco of the 90s, electric vehicles are making a rapid and confident comeback. They are here to stay and change our lives. Are we ready for them?" (Go to page 38 on the link for the full article) (more ...)
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Nissan EV Coming to B.C.
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| Vancouver Sun, Oct 6, 2009 - Nissan is choosing British Columbia as the Canadian launch site for its new all-electric car. Renault-Nissan, along with the B.C. government, the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro, announced on Tuesday that the Nissan LEAF will make its Canadian debut in Vancouver in 2011. It's the second time this year that a leading international auto manufacturer has chosen B.C. for the launch of a production-grade electric car. (more ...)
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Come to the Monthly VEVA Meeting
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Next meeting is tentatively December 16, 2009 - 7:30pm at BCIT Electrical building SE1 cafeteria (map).
Agenda: TBA
November meeting recap:
Ali Charara, Engineering Manager for Advanced Lithium, gave a 30 min presentation on Li-Ion BMS design with a few slides.
His presentation was more of an overview of the industry and how it evolved than any specifics of pack design. He gave insights into the tradeoffs facing engineers with respect to reliability, packing density, cooling and cell/block level management. There were many questions afterwards.
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2010 EV Wall Calendar
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 The 2010 Edition EV Wall Calendar is available with 12 brand new EVs featured. This full-colour Cerlox-bound calendar is digitally printed on coated 32-pound paper and displays 17" tall. Each month with a VEVA meeting features a reminder watermark and statutory holidays are indicated in red. They will be available at a mere $12, and no tax will be collected. Click here to order your calendar!
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Events Calendar
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Community EVents we plan to attend ...
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Mon Sep 13 to Wed Sep 15 '10 (All day)
Electric Mobility Canada PHEV10 Conference
Location: Vancouver Sponsor: EMC (Electric Mobility Canada)
[Link]
Contact: Don Chandler
at 604-224-1136
EMC is an oganization which promotes electric transportation across Canada. Its members are individuals, groups and companies which have a stake in an electric transportation future. VEVA is a member of this national organization. The PHEV10 event in downtown Vancouver will begin with a Welcoming Reception on Monday September 13 and conclude with an Awards Dinner on Wednesday September 15. The Trade Show will be a one day event on most of Wednesday. Technical tours will be offered the morning of Thursday September 14.
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Other Event Links ...
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LIVE NEWS  via EVWORLD.COM
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Mitsubishi Electric Car Goes Into Service in Vancouver, BC
21 Nov 2009
Car is part of joint city and BC Hydro demonstration program. more ...
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MP3 Podcasts via EVWORLD.COM
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EV FAQt
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Hybrid cars still burn gas.
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A 1912 Production Electric Car
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Shown above is VEVA's 1912 Detroit Electric.
This car was owned by Mrs. Florence French of Victoria, BC from 1912
till the 1950s. It was driven regularly until the mid-1950s.
Electric cars were popular with the ladies due to the ease of starting,
quietness and smoke-free cleanliness. The original Nickel-Iron batteries
were replaced in the late 1990s because the cases were deteriorated - but
they still worked fine!
View a photo of the Detroit at home in the
Stave Falls BC Hydro powerhouse museum, also built in 1912! It's near Mission, BC at
31338 Dewdney Trunk Road. Call ahead at 604-462-1222 for hours.
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A 2007 Production Electric Car
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The Tesla Electric Car is now in production out of England.
Designed in Silicon Valley by Lotus engineers, and backed by big names
hailing from the likes of PayPal, Google and eBay,
this performance car does 0-60 in 4 seconds with a flat torque curve
from zero to over 10,000 rpm and cruises on the freeway for 200 miles on a charge.
It uses technologies such as lithium-ion and carbon fiber.
The Signature production run of 100 was sold out in a matter of weeks
and crash testing has been completed. California Governor Arnold Swarzenegger
has ordered one since he was offered a ride in one.
The price is $98,000 US which is considered reasonable in light of
the performance class it's in.
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Detailed pictures here.
Jay Leno Reviews the Tesla
ABC News Report
Tesla Whitepaper
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Download a Bumper Sticker!
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For the Volt, How’s Life After 40 (Miles)?
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| By LINDSAY BROOKE Published: November 19, 2009 New York Times:
SITTING behind the wheel of a 2011 Chevrolet Volt prototype on Wednesday, I found myself confronting what may be the greatest fear that future owners of electric vehicles will face: a battery-charge indicator showing just a few miles of remaining range. (more ...)
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Nissan Leaf North American Tour
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 The Nissan LEAF zero-emission, all-electric car will make its North American debut in Los Angeles on Nov. 13 and continue touring in the places as varied as District of Columbia, and Vancouver, Canada, over the next few months. The five-passenger, five-door, gasoline-free car will make appearances in 21 cities:
Los Angeles: Nov. 13-17, 2009
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Seattle: Dec. 8-12
Vancouver, Canada: Dec. 14-15
Portland, Ore.: Dec. 17-23
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New York City: Feb. 9-14
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EV Range Records
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| October 2009 - a Tesla Roadster travels 313 miles on a single charge. Press Release. This was not a record though. In 1996 a full-sized NiMH powered Solectria Sunrise sedan travelled 375 miles. See Story
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CMU's Open Source EV Project
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| Carnegie Mellon University has a realistic project that uses supercaps with lead acid batteries. The supercaps not only provide power for acceleration but more importantly increases the actual energy of the batteries to suppress the Peukert effect which all chemistries have but lead has much more of. CMU is also sharing its commute data and the resultant supercap-battery algorithm that will come of it using a community model. Coverage here. (more ...)
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Colorado Offering $42,000 Tax Break to Tesla Buyers
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| It sounds too good to be true, but here it is: You can buy a 2009 Tesla Roadster, with a list price of $109,900, and pay just $67,800 for it. At least, you can if you live in Colorado and buy it before December 31. That's when a special Colorado tax credit, designed to encourage the purchase of low-emission cars, is due to end. (more ...)
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Green Bumper Cars
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| Oct 22, 2009 - A Tesla Roadster was totalled in Denmark today. A Prius didn't see the Tesla stopped behind a Touareg and pushed it under the SUV. The Tesla driver walked away with minor bruises. This wouldn't happen if we all drove real cars instead of living rooms. (more ...)
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News from Japan - Oct 2009
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| A number of Japanese automobile manufacturers sent electric models to markets this past summer in significant quantities. (more ...)
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Electricity Per Mile Ratings - SAE
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| “Electricity per mile” will be the shorthand of choice for the fuel efficiency of electric cars, if the Society of Automotive Engineers has its way. The proposal could bring automakers’ recent sky-high claims — 230 MPG for GM’s Chevy Volt, 367 MPG for the Nissan LEAF — down to earth. (more ...)
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IBM to Design Batteries with Energy Storage to Rival Gasoline
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| The project is progressing with its goal of boosting the range of rechargeable batteries for all-electric cars to 500 miles. (more ...)
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Plugged in
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| Globe & Mail, Sep 3, 2009 - A story about how quirky Vancouver's plug-friendly politicians got on the map at Mitsubishi and Nissan. (more ...)
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