NEWSFLASH: June 2002 Calgary, Alberta Canada
There are now TWO battery-powered vehicles operating on the streets of Alberta!!! Late last week a converted Porsche 914 was shipped from British Columbia to Alberta. I am looking for the new owner of this electric vehicle so that I can include it in my registry. If anyone knows the owner of this EV please have him/her contact me at: (403) 270-9554. Thanks...
The following online EV Conversion diary chronicles the creation of Alberta's only on-road electric vehicle registered in the province today. An earlier conversion vehicle (circa 1983) is believed to be no longer registered. This diary details the steps that were required to recycle a car from a smog-burning junker to a completely zero-emissions electrically-powered vehicle. This research vehicle is sponsored in part by Calgary Technologies Inc. and the local Interstate Batteries distributor here in Calgary, Alberta Canada.The next part of this "journey" will be a political one. The urban infrastructure to support EV usage must be created, and the general public must be educated. People must be re-introduced to electric vehicles after a long absence. The first wave of electric vehicles began in the 1890's and most were off of the roads by the early 1920's. California, Arizona, Oregon and Washington are leading us into a new era of EV use. The Canadian provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec lead in the number of on-road electric vehicles. Our province has but this one electric vehicle on its streets, but this is expected to change quickly as Ford (Th!nk), Dynasty Motor Corp. and others bring new electric vehicles to the market.
Once I have the main conversion diary completed, I will begin laying out sections on related science, such as the next generation of battery and fuel cell technologies. The new Lithium Ion Polymer Cells being developed by groups such as the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) hold the promise of electric vehicles that can approach the range of gasoline-powered cars. Advances in fuel cells may go even further towards that goal. As soon as the next generation of affordable, long-range Lithium Ion/Polymer or other advanced batteries becomes available I will seriously consider upgrading the Saturn.
Hello, my name is Ken Norwick and I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. This online diary chronicles the conversion of a 1996 Saturn SL1 four-door sedan to an electrically-powered vehicle. As far as I know, this is the only electric conversion registered in our Province, but I will continue to search for others. This is an oil and gas dependent province and will be a lonely place for EVers for many years to come. Honda and Toyota hybrids are just starting to appear on our streets.
This car will be a "pure" electric. Its original gas engine will be removed and will be replaced by an electric traction motor typically found in golf carts and forklift trucks. This one is a little more powerful than that, but it is essentially the same technology. Energy will be stored in sealed (AGM) lead-acid batteries and charging takes about 8 hours using standard household connections.
The journey begins with the purchase of a 1996 Saturn SL1 donor car. I wanted a car that was practical, yet sporty looking. One that was new enough that it wouldn't look like something out of the past by the time the conversion was done. I decided that plastic was good (no rust), and the Saturn fit the bill. The asking prices for late model Saturns were well beyond what I wanted to pay for a project car. A solution to this problem came by way of my younger brother who just happened to have a used car dealer's license. At one of the car auctions in the Toronto area, he happened to spot a lovely late model Saturn 4 door coupe. When his low bid of $2000 was accepted, we knew that the EV project was underway. Normally, this year and model of Saturn sells for about $7,000 - $10,000 on the dealer's lot. The motor had 207,000 kms on it and had one bad cylinder, so that is the reason for the low price.That was great! Now I wouldn't have to feel too bad when I removed the original ICE parts to replace them with a new electric motor! The only problem with all of this, was that I was 2500 kms from the car. It was in Toronto, Ontario and I lived in Calgary, Alberta.
I can be reached via e-mail at: ken.norwick@shaw.caAll contents copyright ©1999-2006, Ken Norwick. All rights reserved.
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