Mitsubishi Motors Provides 2 i-MiEVs to Frankfurt Airport
20 August 2009
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), along with its German distributor Mitsubishi Motors Deutschland (MMD), is providing two electric i-MiEVs to Fraport AG, the owner of the Frankfurt Airport, in a promotion for the vehicle. The Frankfurt Airport, the third-largest airport in Europe and the largest in Germany, has decided to incorporate EVs in its fleet.
Currently, Frankfurt Airport operates about 3,000 vehicles. Moving forward, Fraport AG plans to increase the share of EV vehicles in its fleet to 20% by 2015 and by more than 60% from 2020 onwards. In parallel, a network of quick chargers will be implemented all through the airport.
i-MiEV’s evaluation at Frankfurt Airport marks a further milestone in Fraport’s sustainability strategy. With respect to the reduction of CO2 emissions, electric mobility at Frankfurt airport—along with the better energy efficiency of the terminals and other buildings—is an essential starting point. Pure EVs with a range of up to 160 km [99 miles] are ideal for use for short range airport traffic.
—Dr. Stefan Schulte, Deputy Chairman of Fraport AG
MMC launched the i-MiEV launched in Japan at the end of July starting with fleet and corporate customers. Individual customers will follow from April 2010.
If all electric car developers would get together to develop a tiny range extending fuel powered generator that is basically belted into the car for easy replacement, then we could eliminate the discussion about limited range and allow the use of smaller cheaper batteries. The fuel tank could be five gallons in size and filled with Butanol so that the fuel does not degrade if it is not used for a long time. Autogas(propane) variants could be used. A tank full can give up to 200 miles of range to the next ordinary fuel stop.
The OPOC demonstrated this capability, but even smaller cheaper units is all that will be needed by most car users. Driving though a city at an average of 20 miles per hour on a range extender is almost identical to driving through the city with a full battery. The careful use of materials and designs could allow more than five horsepower from what looks like a large model airplane engine.
At a stoplight, the range extender can put enough energy into an almost discharged battery for the fastest starts the car allows. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 20 August 2009 at 06:03 PM
HG:
This may be exactly what the Tata PHEV (and many other small PHEVs from Asia) may be like in 2012/13.
Posted by: HarveyD | 20 August 2009 at 07:28 PM