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| November 2008 |
Feature |
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SA company unveils world-class locally developed electric car
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Image © Optimal Energy |
Appropriately named Joule, the zero emission car is a six-seater MPV (multi-purpose vehicle). Designed by Optimal Energy in association with legendary South African born automotive designer, Keith Helfet, the ultra sleek Joule made its global debut at the Paris Motor Show in October.
Comments Kobus Meiring, CEO of Optimal Energy, “The world’s finite energy
sources are being used inefficiently and urban transport plays a major role in
energy wastage and climate changing pollution.
Joule is Optimal Energy’s solution to change that. We have capitalised on the
opportunity presented by the exponential increase in oil costs and the dramatic
improvement in battery price, life and performance. Joule’s value proposition is
made more compelling when environmental influences such as increasing pollution
and global warming phenomena caused by the rapid increase in urbanisation are
also considered."
Furthermore, Joule is fully aligned with Optimal Energy’s vision to establish and lead the electric vehicle industry in South Africa as a springboard to global expansion.”
Joule’s interior and exterior was styled by Keith Helfet who has a long and
illustrious history as chief stylist at Jaguar and, who was responsible for such
iconic designs as the XJ220, the XK180 and the F-Type.
“Keith was serendipitously introduced to Optimal Energy while purchasing coastal property in South Africa and was immediately captivated by our vision. Optimal Energy was searching for a world class designer, the fact that Keith is South African born and has strong South African roots matched our criteria perfectly,” says Meiring.
Image © Optimal Energy |
Joule’s chassis has been designed to accommodate two large-cell lithium ion battery packs which employ chemistry similar to that used in mobile phones and laptop computers. This chemistry is inherently safe; lithium is found in many medicinal applications and the batteries do not contain any heavy metals.
Using a normal 220 Volt home outlet and Joule’s onboard charger, it will take approximately seven hours to recharge Joule’s battery for a 200km driving range, with two packs providing 400km in total. Joule’s large battery bay is able to accommodate a number of different battery configurations from different suppliers, giving the customer the choice of performance and cost.
“Studies show that 99 percent of urban users drive less than 150km’s a day, Optimal Energy recommends that only one battery pack is necessary to power Joule,” continues Meiring.
Independent analysis of Eskom, the country’s sole electricity provider, has
confirmed that the South African grid has enough capacity to supply electrical
energy to millions of cars without affecting its customer base or requiring any
additional infrastructure.
Eskom has vast amounts of excess energy between 11 PM and 6 AM (GMT +2); this will be the recommended recharging time. Electric cars only require about 20 percent of the energy that conventional cars require; this means that the total emissions are much less, even if Eskom’s coal dominated electricity is used. With the global trend of electricity generation becoming more renewable and cleaner, total emissions caused by electric cars will continue to shrink.
The South African province of Gauteng is currently being evaluated for
Joule’s first assembly plant as it has the biggest cities and has expressed
interest in placing the first fleet orders. Although supplier lists are not yet
final, it is expected that the local content of Joule will be more than 50
percent.
Joule will be sold in all major South African centres; Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban and will be available towards the end of 2010. Joule was developed for the international market and sales and exports will follow shortly after the South African launch. - SouthAfrica.info
More information:
Source: SouthAfrica.info - The all-in-one official guide and web portal to South Africa.
Optimal Energy (Pty) Ltd is a privately owned South African company based in Cape Town, headed-up by CEO Kobus Meiring, previously programme manager of prestigious projects such as the Rooivalk Helicopter and Southern African Large Telescope (SALT).
He founded Optimal Energy in 2005 with Mike Lomberg, Jian Swiegers and Gerhard Swart capitalised with an investment from the Innovation Fund (IF), an instrument of the Department of Science & Technology of the South African Government.
The founders together with Diana Blake and Ratilal Rowji are the executive management team of Optimal Energy. The current shareholders in Optimal Energy comprise executive management, the IF and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
Visit www.optimalenergy.co.za
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