Electric Vehicle Revolution

Where have I been?

2011-01-12T09:37:00.004-05:00

My last post was way too long ago. Well, I am going to jump right back in! I had an amazing summer at Tesla Motors. I learned a large amount, and received invaluable experience designing, engineering, and building battery packs over the six months that I spent working for Tesla. In addition to my work, I got to drive a Tesla Roadster. I explored California by making trips to different cities and National Parks. Finally, I met an amazing amount of passionate hardworking intellectuals that I plan to keep in touch with!

Even though the summer is over, I am still extremely busy! At the start of September I returned to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, IN to continue my degree in Engineering. I was appointed and have been acting at the Overall Team Leader for Rose-Hulman EcoCAR. I have been enjoying managing the team and also making many appearances throughout Indiana. I have spoken at industry conferences and many other events. However, I think the most valuable experiences are the trips that I have made to talk to students. I really wish someone had talked to me when I was in middle school and high school. I hope I have been able to offer inspiration and encourage more students to become interested in electric cars! These experiences also inspired me to keep working hard and advancing in the electric car industry.

Right now I am fully occupied by school work, organizing a philanthropy event, Pike Fire Truck Pull and EcoCAR. At the start of April, I will host the third annual fire truck pull, an event to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics Indiana. In early June, I will be in Michigan with the rest of Rose-Hulman EcoCAR for the final competition. After the vehicle testing is complete, we will all travel to Washington D.C. for our final presentations. Finally, I will return to Tesla for a second internship and continue work on the world's most advanced electric cars!

Jalopnik.com: I'm Tesla's New Intern, And This Is My Electric Car

2010-05-11T13:39:00.002-04:00

I was featured on Jalopnik.com today! Click Here to see the article: I'm Tesla's New Intern, And This Is My Electric Car

I was on EVcast!

2010-05-07T14:21:00.005-04:00

I was live on EVcast Saturday, May 8th, from 1-2pm (EST). EVcast is a online radio show that discusses electric vehicles and surrounding topics.

If you would like to watch/listen to a podcast of the show here is the link: EVcast #363

WIRED: EV Restoration Leads To Tesla Motors Internship

2010-05-03T13:24:00.003-04:00

I was featured today in a WIRED article! Check it out: EV Restoration Leads To Tesla Motors Internship

Company Spotlight: Tesla Motors

2010-05-01T02:34:00.011-04:00

I am going to start this series with my current employer and favorite of the whole group of electric car companies(I may be biased). Tesla Motors has been one of the most influential and successful car companies in recent years. They have been credited with the major reason for General Motors and several other car companies reevaluating electric cars.

They are currently manufacturing and selling the Tesla Roadster, a sporty two seater, that competes with many high class expensive sports cars. I have gotten the privilege to drive one and it was quite an amazing experience. There is something special about pushing the accelerator pedal to the floor and not hearing explosions or smelling any fumes polluting the environment.

Tesla is also designing the Model S which thousands of people around the world can not wait for! The Model S is a seven seat sports sedan that will be able to travel 300 miles per charge and accelerate to sixty mile per hour in under six seconds!

If that is not enough Tesla is selling its electric powertrain technology to other car companies to help electrify their vehicles. Currently, Tesla is working with Daimler.

So Many Companies!

2010-05-01T02:20:00.004-04:00

There are so many companies getting involved in electric car development. It is almost like the early nineteen hundreds all over again. There are a large number of car companies starting from good ideas and garage space. It is a testament to all the automobile owners around the world giving these startups hope and financial backing to these start-ups. I hope that all of these companies have great success and help to make electricity the primary source of transportation energy. This post is introduction to the start of a series of posts where I will highlight one electric car company per week. We will see how many I can come up with!

Technology: Flywheel

2010-05-01T01:30:00.017-04:00

Today, I was sent a video of the Hybrid Porsche 911 GT3 R. I had not previously thought about using a flywheel as a power storage system in a vehicle. However, I have thought about supercapacitors (Electric double-layer capacitors) and batteries. I have even contemplated the idea of combining these two storage systems much like how many animals have two types of muscle. One for quick acceleration (super capacitors) and one for long distance travel (batteries. This would result in more efficient regeneration (braking) and discharge (acceleration) while also allowing the battery to last longer by not cycling it as much from regeneration. However, I am still waiting for supercapacitors to become more available and proven. Flywheels may take supercapacitors place. I plan to follow this technology closely to see how it develops. Currently, flywheels are similar to most electric vehicle technology in that they are too expensive for wide spread use.

Boston Globe Article: Duxbury student's quirky EV lands him a job at Tesla

2010-04-30T14:25:00.004-04:00

Here is a great article that was posted about me recently:

Duxbury student's quirky EV lands him a job at Tesla

EV Restoration Sets Teen on New Path; Illustrates Three Decades of Progress

2010-03-31T13:24:00.003-04:00

Here is excellent article on my evolution as an EV supporter and electrical engineer!

EV Restoration Sets Teen on New Path; Illustrates Three Decades of Progress

Solution for EV Range: Aerodynamics

2010-01-03T18:41:00.005-05:00

Batteries are steadily improving, and super capacitors (electric double-layer capacitors) are being developed. In the mean time, electric vehicle designers should look to aerodynamics for increasing the range of new electric cars. Companies and inventors alike have been making aerodynamic automobiles since the early 1900s. A few recent models that come to mind are the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, General Motors EV1, and Aptera 2e. Even home enthusiasts who have modified their current internal combustion vehicles observe drastic improvements in range. A boat tail added to a Geo Metro achieved a fifteen percent increase in range, and a body redesign of a Honda Civic achieved a forty five percent increase. Some designers and companies say that aerodynamic cars will not sell because they are not appealing to the consumer. However, many people who have bought the Prius enjoy its futuristic look and say that this was one of reasons for their selection of the vehicle. Additionally, aerodynamics can be tastefully applied to vehicles. The pictured car for this post is a 1954 Fiat Turbina. It is one of the most aerodynamic cars ever built and has a drag coefficient of 0.14. Think about the production EV’s that are coming to market with ranges of 100-200 miles and imagine what even a fifteen percent increase in range would do to these models.

Ford Positions Itself for EVs

2009-11-28T19:19:00.001-05:00

In the past year there has been a plethora of news about the American car companies. General Motors and Chrysler have received a large extent of the attention due to their acceptance of government bailout money. On the other hand, Ford Motor Company never put in a bid for bailout money, which has caused them to slip into the background and be forgotten. I am happy to learn that Ford has quietly been positioning the company for electrification. Next year Ford will release the 2011 Transit Connect EV with the hopes that it will be the perfect utility van for companies based in large cities. One year later, the 2012 Ford Focus EV is set to be released to the public. Prototypes of the electric Focus can be seen throughout Hollywood and on the Jay Leno Show in the Green Car Challenge. Its release in 2011 will make it one of the first commercially available all-electric sedans. Ford’s ambitious plans include many more electric vehicles to be on the road soon after the Focus. In order to design these new cars and electric power trains, Ford engineers need to go back to school. That is the reason Ford has partnered with the University of Detroit Mercy to create an Advanced Electric Vehicle Program. There are a total of seven classes that will help Ford engineers and other engineers gain the skills needed to design electric automobiles. This is all exciting news and I look forward to hearing more from the Ford Motor Company.

Th!nk

2009-11-20T22:06:00.008-05:00

I have been following Th!nk, a small electric car company out of Norway, for over four years. Th!nk began as a part of Ford Motor Company back in the early nineties during the EV1 era, when the last electric car revolution started. It has been sold and resold many times over the past ten years. However the current owners and investors are serious about putting electric cars on the road throughout the world. I am excited about their current model, The Th!nk City. It is similar to my 1980 electric Comuta-Car, except completely modernized. The Th!nk City has a one hundred mile range, a top speed over sixty five miles per hour, and space for two adults and two children. You can even buy it as a convertible!

Recently Th!nk announced that they have hired several well known leaders from the automotive and sustainable technology industries to bolster their management team. Additionally, Th!nk disclosed that there are plans to build a factory in Indiana to manufacture the Th!nk City. There is a good chance that this decision was influenced by EnerDel, a battery manufacturer located in Indianapolis, Indiana. EnerDel has a 31% stake in Th!nk and produces the batteries for the Th!nk City. I think Indiana is a great place to have the factory because I go to school at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology which is in Terre Haute, Indiana.
For More Information on Th!nk: Th!nk.no

Tesla Motors

2009-11-08T20:03:00.017-05:00

As you can tell by the logo for this blog, I am a huge fan of Tesla Motors. Tesla is single handedly revolutionizing the car industry by changing the way people view electric cars. Rather than slow golf carts, electric cars are now perceived as extreme driving machines, having 100% torque at 0 rpm and outperforming Porches and Ferraris. The team and directors at Tesla are 100% devoted to being the guiding light for other electric automobile startups and even larger car companies. The company has already reached overall corporate profitability and has delivered over 900 electric Roadsters. Tesla is selling these beautiful, fun, fully capable electric sports cars throughout the United States and Europe. The future for this company looks exceptionally bright. There are plans for a 5 +2 seat sports sedan that fits into the $50,000 range that will be delivered starting in 2012 with a family sedan to come soon after. For more information check them out TeslaMotors.com

What is this blog about?

2009-11-06T17:26:00.004-05:00

I created this blog to educate myself and others about the past, present, and future of electric vehicles. I hope to include posts about the history of these cars, current advancements, what the future may hold, and the technology that has and is being developed to further EV's global acceptance. I will start by working on a post or two a weekend. Stay tuned and feel free to comment. If you have a neat story and think it should be posted feel free to drop me an email, chadconway@gmail.com

Thanks,
Chad

About Me

2009-11-06T17:15:00.004-05:00

Hello and welcome,
My name is Chad Conway. I am a sophomore-engineering student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. I am currently majoring in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. Beyond my course work I enjoy spending time as the electrical team leader on the school's EcoCAR Project. Through this project students at Rose-Hulman are competing against other top engineering colleges and universities to design and install an efficient power train into a Saturn Vue vehicle. This work includes putting together models and simulations in MathWorks MatLab and National Instruments LabView. Ultimately, the car will be assembled and tested before competitions.
My real passion is electric cars. Starting in my sophomore year in high school I began working on electric car projects. By my junior year I had completely rebuilt a 1980 electric Comuta-Car that I drive as my primary means of transportation to this day. This practical experience leads me to believe that electric drive is the most efficient and practical alternative to internal combustion engines. I am keeping well informed of developments in battery technology and dreams of a day when super capacitors will replace chemical energy storage. My career goal is to work with an automotive design team, engineering the world’s best electric vehicles.
My experience includes a summer internship at the MIT Media Lab. At MIT I was fortunate to assist the Smart Cities Group designing the City Car. I am honored at having achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and proud of the memorable project that resulted from this effort.
I am a team player that excels when challenged and looks forward to making the world a better place through engineering.