BBC TV series follows electric car on 16,000-mile trip from Alaska to Argentina
An eight-part BBC series that begins airing Saturday follows an electric car on its 16,000-mile trip from Alaska to Argentina.
In "Racing Green," filmmaker Claudio van Planta follows postgraduate engineering students from England on their journey that began at Chena Hot Springs on July 1. They reached Argentina in 136 days.
Van Planta tells the Daily News-Miner the goal of the trip was to prove that electric cars have a place in the world today.
Today is Thursday the 30th of December 2010, and the vast majority of the world will surely be looking forward to tomorrow night when we will bid farewell to first decade of the 21st century and usher in the next! While RGE will certainly share in the excitement, we are more excited about the next day when it’s not only the next decade which begins…
On Saturday 1st of January 2011, the documentary series documenting RGE’s record-breaking journey down the Pan-American Highway begins! With an absolutely first class cameraman and editing crew, headed up by none other than Claudio von Planta, the series attracted the attention of BBC World News, the world’s largest TV channel! Each episode of the 8 part Racing Green series will be broadcast 28 times per weekend, reaching over 74 million people each week in 220 countries!
The whole team sincerely hopes that you will be able to join us in experiencing what has not only been an incredible experience, but one that has sought to change the public’s perception about electric vehicles, and to inspire a whole generation of children to study science and technology subjects!
To find out at what time you can watch this, check out the BBC World News Schedule here.
And to whet your appetite, check out the BBC World News advert for Racing Green here.
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An electric sportscar finished a remarkable road trip Tuesday on the Panamerican Highway, traveling from near the Arctic Circle in Alaska to the world's southernmost city without a single blast of carbon dioxide emissions.
Developed by engineers from Imperial College London, the SRZero sportscar ran on lithium iron phosphate batteries powering two electric motors with a peak output of 400 horsepower during its 16,000-mile (26,000-kilometer) journey.
Powering up was a joy at times, the team said - such as in Chena Hot Springs, Alaska, where they started their trip July 3 after charging the batteries using geothermal energy.
"The SRZero was literally being charged from energy taken straight out of the earth with absolutely zero CO2 emissions," Alex Schey, a mechanical engineer who organized the trip, wrote in his blog that day.
Finding places to plug in along the way became a major challenge as the team passed through 14 countries in 70 days of driving.
But every time the driver hit the brakes - and there was plenty of that as the team made its way through the Rocky Mountains, Mexico and Central America and then through South America - the car recovered kinetic energy, extending its capacity to drive as much as six hours and more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) on a single charge.
This was no clunky science project - all that horsepower enabled the car to reach 60 mph (96 kph) in just seven seconds and reach top controlled speeds of 124 mph (200 kph), the team said.
It pulled into the city of Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego, on Tuesday afternoon.
"WE HAVE MADE IT - WE ARE IN USHUAIA!!!!!!! so many emotions, so many people to thank. It has been two absolutely incredible years. ...," the team tweeted, posting a picture of the car outside the local customs office.
"The success of efforts like this should motivate us to follow this road that we believe is as possible as it is necessary: that of searching for progress for our societies without putting at risk the environment," the governor of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, Fabiana Ros, said as she greeted the team.
Andy Hadland, the team's spokesman, said he hopes the trip will change the image of electric cars and inspire young people to become engineers and develop their own projects.
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On the Internet:
Racing Green Endurance blog: http://www.racinggreenendurance.com/blog
MV GREY GOOSE will depart Mobile Alabama in May 2011 on a 10,000 nautical-mile expedition of adventure and discovery up the United Stated east coast to St. John's Newfoundland Canada before crossing to Greenland's coast then turning westward to Pond Inlet Nunavut Canada to challenge the fabled Arctic Northwest Passage through icy waters to Alaska on a homeward bound voyage to Astoria Oregon on the Columbia River.
Voyage website details: http://www.northwestpassage2011.com/
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