Evonik, a New Jersey company that has been developing lithium-ion batteries for Daimler for the past 5 years, has developed a record-breaking electric vehicle that employs kite power as its main energy source.
Astonishingly, during tests, the electric car drove 3000 miles across the entirety of Australia only using self-contained wind power. Evonik claims the vehicle produces enough energy to travel upwards of 225 miles per day and during the entire trip across Australia the car only used $15 worth of electricity.
Lithium-ion batteries outfitted with bespoke electrodes and ceramic separators allows battery cells to store energy generated by the automobile’s wind turbine that is portable.
Evonik’s car uses a kite that looks like a giant parachute to propel the EV forward using only a light breeze.
The EV is incredibly light and the body is constructed from sandwich carbon fiber. A silica-silane rubber eliminates much of the resistance that usually plagues tires.
Three world records were set during the drive. The first continent crossing by a vehicle powered by wind and lithium-ion batteries, the longest distance covered in 36 hours by a wind-powered electric vehicle, and the largest distance covered by an exclusively wind-powered automobile.
