Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture
Rimac Automobili is no stranger to our pages, but it's usually for the Concept_One supercar or its sleek spinoffs. Today, though, the company is talking up a feel-good alternative use for the electric vehicle's batteries: powering a wheelchair for a young fan, Rolly Bugnar, who suffers from a serious and legitimate case of range anxiety.
So Bugnar contacted Rimac to see if the company could repurpose its batteries for his daily conveyance. Mate Rimac, the company founder and CEO, said, "Since we have already used the technology originally developed for the Concept_One supercar in other products like the high-performance Greyp Bikes, we were confident that we could relatively quickly adapt our battery for a wheelchair. ... It still took us months of development and adaptation, but we are all very satisfied with the performance and reliability of the prototype system.""We were confident that we could relatively quickly adapt our battery for a wheelchair." - Mate Rimac
What did Rimac do? It took the li-ion battery system from that Greyp G12 bike as well as the company's battery management system, vehicle control unit and human machine interface. As you might suspect, the wheelchair now has better range (37 miles vs. just six with the old lead acid batteries) and weighs less. The new batteries went from 70 pounds down to 47, and the EV has more consistent power, too. You can tell Bugnar is a true EV fan, since he likes to keep close tabs on the individual cells and he wishes his wheelchair could go faster.
Sadly, Rimac Automobili doesn't have a plan to sell any wheelchairs like this, but we expect a lot of wheelchair users would enjoy a new ride like Bugnar's. See what we mean in the video below. It might be the most heartwarming seven minutes you'll spend online today.
Continue reading When you put Rimac Concept One batteries into a wheelchair, magic happens
When you put Rimac Concept One batteries into a wheelchair, magic happens originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 27 Jul 2014 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: http://green.autoblog.com/2014/07/27/put-rimac-concept-one-batteries-into-wheelchair-magic/
No comments:
Post a Comment