Electric

It would be a huge understatement to say that the 12 vehicles remaining in the Automotive X PRIZE are pretty unusual. One of the things that was particularly fun for those of us recently attending the Finals Stage in Michigan, in fact, was observing all the different forms and configurations that the different teams’ automobiles have taken. One standout (and they’re all standouts really) has been the TW4XP, representing the team of the same name. The vehicle is a sneak-peek of the next generation of Twike, a production electric three-wheeler built and sold by some of the team members back home in Germany. One of the things that makes regular Twikes special is the fact that they have pedals, so you can extend their range by giving the battery a break and pedaling on the easy stuff. While other X PRIZE contenders such as the Aptera may be sexier than the TW4XP, it represents an already-available vehicle that could help you work off those unwanted extra pounds. Read More

We’ve got cars, motorcycles and bicycles that are electric, so why not hookah air pumps for diving? They make much less noise than their gas and diesel-powered counterparts, they don’t stink up their surroundings with toxic fumes, and they don’t emit carbon. Of course, as is the case with many other e-things, the electricity that powers them has to come from somewhere, and chances are that somewhere isn’t a wind turbine or a solar panel. A new diving system from Brownie’s Marine Group, however, has another ace up its sleeve - a variable-speed compressor that automatically adjusts in accordance to the diver’s demand for air, thus saving power and allowing for longer and/or deeper dives when running off a battery. Read More

The Bubble Bike is an ingenious low cost transport solution for Northern China where temperatures drop well below zero in winter and the roads are not nearly as suitable for scooters and motorcycles as they are in summer. The recipient of a 2009 Red Star Design Award (China’s equivalent of the red dot awards), the full-electric, three-wheel Bubble Bike sells in China for RMB 5000 (around US$730). Read More

Gizmag attended this year's Green Aviation Show in Paris to take a look at some of the eco-friendly aircraft currently available, as well those which may be just on the horizon. Although representatives from the airship contingent were out in force at the event, electrically-powered planes and paragliders also put in a strong showing, along with some rather interesting ideas for tomorrow's oil-free aircraft. Read More

General Motor's Joint-Venture partner in China, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) rolled out a concept alongside GM's EN-V at Expo 2010 which in many ways is more ground-breaking than the EN-V. The idea behind the YeZ Concept is that it will photosynthesize, absorbing carbon dioxide from surrounding air and emitting oxygen back into the atmosphere. Among the many futuristic aspects of the YeZ (Chinese for “leaf” as Nissan already uses the name for a clever green concept that is heading for production) is a roof that incorporates solar panels and wheels that incorporate small wind turbines to harvest energy from the environment. And if you think this is not within reach by 2030, think again – artificial photosynthesis has proven elusive, but there's every indication it will be a commercial reality within two decades. Read More

You're looking at the first exclusive images of what we expect to become the Personal Water Craft V 3.0 – it's the Green Samba. It has the same straight line 65 mph performance of the fastest 260 bhp sit-down PWCs, combined with handling and agility far beyond those of a stand-up PWC. The biggest benefit though, is that the Green Samba uses twin direct drive electric propulsion pods (unit pictured bottom left), so it doesn't directly deliver any hydrocarbons, CO2 or NO2 into delicate marine environments. Equally as important as the lack of noxious gases, the Green Samba is also completely silent, removing one of the greatest causes for complaint against PWCs and no doubt offering respite for those creatures with extremely delicate hearing which live on and under the water. A working prototype of the carbon fiber construction Green Samba will be on the water for testing purposes in Q3, 2010. The pictured action shots (bottom center and bottom right) of the Samba are the most recent development of the internal combustion Carbon Samba we first wrote up this time last year. Read More

If you've ever been annoyed by the impatiently waiting for an office building elevator, this might just be the perfect building for you. Each of the new elevators installed by Mitsubishi Electric in Umeda Hankyu Building’s new office area in Osaka, Japan measures 11.2 x 9.2 feet in area by 8.5 feet high (3.4m wide, 2.8m long and 2.6m high), thus allowing for a whopping 80 person capacity. Read More

British company econogo has launched the yogo, the first electric scooter that uses a fully detachable and portable lithium battery. Traditionally, electric two-wheelers in the UK have used impractical fixed silicon batteries which require the owner to run an extension lead from a mains electricity socket to the vehicle’s integrated battery. yogo owners can remove and charge the two LiFePO4 batteries inside an hour. Two spare batteries offer the option of an instantaneous swap for a further 44 miles of range. The GBP1999 (USD$3000) yogo has a 1500W motor, a top speed of 38 mph giving it the acceleration of a 100cc motorcycle, if not the top speed … and almost negligible running costs. Read More

American manufacturer ZEV has issued a fairly blunt challenge to other electric motorcycle manufacturers such as Vectrix, Zero Motorcycles and Brammo, by claiming to have the fastest and most powerful production electric scooter on the market in its US$7237 ZEV7000. "We tell them to bring their street legal production bike and to bring their betting money. There can be only one "fastest" street legal production electric motor scooter or bike in the world." Read More