A Electric cars on the horizon QUIET AND non- ‘polluting, electric- powered cars could be the answer to. en- vironmental problems posed by today’s fossil fuel burners. Advances in battery tech- nology have brought the electric car closer to becom- ing a real alternative to in- ternal combustion engine- powered automobiles. Most of this new techno- logy centers on batteries that will store more power, last longer and recharge more quickly. As weil, a new type of battery called a fuel cell will be able to run on methanol, natural gas or gasoline. Auto Motion Greg Wikkon © Technological udvances like these address the tradi- tional drawbacks of personal electric-powered vehicles, such as iimited range, a long recharging time, very heavy batteries, and insufficient power and performance. General Motors recently unveiled an electric car with impressive acceleration times and a reasonable cruising speed. The GM Impact can go from O to 100 km/h in about eight seconds and has a top speed of 120 km/h. The Impact weighs about 1,000 kg (2,200 Ibs) and can go 200 kilometres on a single charge. The Impact’s 32 six cell, 10 volt lead acid batteries weigh 400 kilograms and can be recharged in six hours us- ing ordinary household cur- rent. At the moment, the Im- pact's lead-acid batteries last only 32,000 kilometres and cost $1,800 to replace, but General Motors is working on an improved battery design to extend the life to 80,000 kilometres so that operating costs will be about the same as an internal combustion engined car. At the moment, GM has -no plans to make the Impact a production car. A company in Burnaby, H.B.T. Consultants, plans to manufacture an electric- powered sports coupe called the Exar-1. First developed in California in the mid-*70s, the Exar-! is powered by 24 six-volt lead acid batteries, has a range of 120 to 160 kilometres, and a top speed of 135 km/h. It can be recharged using ordinary 110 volt household current. No performance figures are available, but with a fairly heavy 1,360 kg. (3,000 Ibs.) curb weight and less power, performance will not be as quick as GM’s Impact. The Exar-1 is projected to achieve energy economy rat- ings equivalent to 125-180 miles per gallon. H.B.T. Consultants hopes to pro- duce the first Exar-! some time in 1991, The most common type of portable electrical power source, the lead-acid battery, may soon be replaced by lighter, more powerful bat- teries, and fuel cells. Lead-acid batteries are very heavy and are less effi- cient when they are cold, thus requiring heating and insulating in cold climates. Nickel-zinc batteries weigh less than half as much as lead-acid batteries and offer the same amount of energy. However, they are currently more expensive to manufac- ture and have a shorter life span. Nickel-iron batteries are another alternative, offering a greater range than the lead-acid type. However, they store only 50 to 60 per cent of the recharging cur- rent compared to 75 per cent for the lead-acid battery. So-called high temperature traction batteries extend the range of a vehicle to more than 300 kilometres on one charge. The sodium-sulphur battery is the best known of these, storing up to five times the energy of a lead- acid battery. But this type of battery must be kept heated at about 350 degrees Celsius, so it is not yet a practical alternative. Perhaps the most promis- ing new type of battery is not a battery at all. The fuel cell produces electrical energy using hydrogen and oxygen, and some can run on conventional fuel. A company in North Van- couver is now in the forefront of fuel cell techno- logy. Ballard Technologies’ solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell runs on methanol, an alcohol-based fuel. Outside the fuel cell, the methanol is broken into hydrogen and carbon diox- ide, then the hydrogen flows into one side of the fuel cell. The other side contains ox- ygen or air. When hydrogen ions are transferred across a plastic Membrane to the air com- partment, aided by a plati- num catalyst, an electric current is produced. The only byproduct of the reaction is water, so the fuel cell is completely non- polluting. Bailard’s fuel cell has no moving parts and is claimed to last twenty times as long as an ordinary piston engine. Solid polymer fuel cells are now undergoing testing at Daimler Benz, Dow Chemical and the Ontario Ministry of Energy. Personal, electric-powered cars are still years away from mass production with the exception of vehicles such as golf carts, forklifts, and util- ity vans. However, with recent ad- vances in battery technology spurred by the increasing demand for non-polluting vehicles, a practical urban- type electric vehicle may be a real possibility within five years. 27 ~ Friday, February 16, 1990 - North Shore News UT O MOTIVE § Photo submitted | A BURNABY company plans to manufacture an electric-powered sports coupe first developed in California called the Exar-1. North Shore Winter Club Presents The 4th A 7 ee ee , oo re re : Presented by north shore SUNDAY + WEDNESDAY + FRIDAY Court House West FEBRUARY 28 — MARCH 3 1990 SPECIAL CLUB CHALLENGE PRIZE: Members trom any Club that has the most entries in this tournament will be eligible for a special prize of a fabulous weekend at the Tyax Mountain Lake Resort. EVENTS Men’s, ladies’, mixed and senior men tor all skill levels, Featuring some of B.C/s top plavers. SUPERB HOSPITALITY EACH EVENING Cold Buffet, Pizza & Beer Night, Banquet & Dance, plus hospitality throughout the day Saturday. QUALITY AWARDS & TROPHIES Trophies will be awarded to the Ist, 2nd, 3rd and consolation winners in each event. All competitors will receive a tournament souvenic. CONVENIENT SCHEDULING Games are scheduled to begin at 6:00 pam. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening and 8:00 a.m. to MATCHES HELD IN TWO CONVENIENT 6:00 pam. on Saturday, LOCATIONS tn addition to the North Shore Winter Ciub, matches will be held at Courthouse West, North Vancouver. Entry fees are $38.00 for your first event, $5.00 for a second event in all categories. ENTRY DEADLINE: Wednesday, February 21st, 1990. TOR FURTHER INFORMATIOIN CONTACT NORTH SHORE AVINTER CULE SH ATES FOR AD TS SPONSORED SEE TRE oUF sronm EKTEION @ (4) SAFEWAY Feeding the Community Sprit by Wan Marlin WY Travel GUEST PASSES AVAILABLE Guests are welcome to enjoy the hospitality for only $20.00 during the entire tournament. Banquet anty $15.00. > Va¥ CHRYSLER SHEN ANDRES