Students strut their stuff!

Students strut their stuff!

The first EVolocity motor sport event, held in Christchurch on 30 November, proved that electric vehicles are set to become part of our transportation future.

EVolocity put a number of high end electric vehicles through their paces against some of the world's fastest combustion vehicles, including a race between a Ferrari and one of the world's highest performing electric vehicles - the Tesla S. The event also featured the world's fastest electric drag motorcycle that accelerates from zero to 100km in one second.

In addition to showcasing high performance vehicles, 15 Canterbury high school teams raced electric vehicles that students had designed and built. Geraldine High School took out the prize for overall performance winner and the Lincoln High School team had the fastest school vehicle on the day, reaching an impressive speed of 30 km per hour.

The event's principal sponsor was Orion and CEO Rob Jamieson said it was great to see the ingenuity and technical expertise demonstrated by students and other participants.

"We see the support of EVolocity as an investment in our future. We're proud to be associated with an event that encourages students in their education and stimulates their interest in electrical engineering studies."

The electric vehicle building project was part of the STEM studies (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programme in schools and was also supported by CPIT.

"We recognise the need for a highly-trained and skilled workforce. Participation in this type of event grows and develops those specialised skills in our young people," said Jamieson.

Orion also had a staff member enter an electric vehicle conversion in the event and took the opportunity to showcase their 1919 Walker electric truck at the event, understood to be the only model in the world still being driven.

Orion is committed to supporting the future of electric vehicles in New Zealand. Reliable plug-in electric vehicles are already available from major car retailers, and their numbers will increase as their prices continue to fall and battery technology improves. This will mean an increase in electricity usage which the company is already planning for.

"In addition to planning for increased capacity, Orion is encouraging people to charge electric vehicles at night while most people are asleep hence the message - be bright, charge your electric vehicle at night," says Jamieson.

Electric vehicles are not only quiet and good for the environment, but they run at one fifth of the cost of combustion vehicles, equivalent to around 40c per litre of petrol.

Other EVolocity High School results included:

Motor controller (only entries with home built controller could win this category):

* Drag race, highest speed - @ 30kph Lincoln High School
* Street circuit, shortest time - Lincoln High School
* Overall controller winner - Papanui High School (no. 6).

Performance category

* Courier run, shortest time - Christchurch Boys High
* Economy run, fastest time - Lincoln High School
* Overall performance winner (combined courier rank, economy rank and lowest voltage drop) - Geraldine High School
* Best design/show - Geraldine High school
* Best social marketing - Geraldine High School
* Best video - Burnside High school.

ENDS

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