Electric cars at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Aquafuel and More Control have been asked to team up to supply a zero-emission glycerine generator to a leading German car manufacturer who has entered their MEB-based electric car to tackle the famous Pikes Peak hill climb in Colorado this June.
This is no circuit race; it’s a hill climb, up and across one of the tallest mountains in Colorado. That means exactly one chance to get it right; one run of 12.4 miles that starts at 9,390 feet and finishes above the clouds at 14,110 feet.
An electric motor is not affected by the partial pressures of lack of oxygen at higher altitudes, as long as its batteries are in good condition, it should have as much power at 14,000 feet as it would at sea level.
This latest advancement in zero-emission generator technology has seen the development of a new common rail generator. It’s based on a standard production engine, but with the use of Aquafuel’s patented technology, the generator can run on glycerine. Glycerine is a non-toxic, non-flammable and non-fossil renewable fuel. This technology virtually eliminates NO2 particulates and is ultra-low emissions.
More Control has been heavily involved with the integration and upgrade of the control systems within the generator, allowing the generator to run on glycerine.
There was a need to enhance the control of the engine, this meant integrating bespoke ECU engine technology and a generator controller. The integration required the amalgamation of different technologies and communication protocols allowing seamless control of the complete system. Monitored locally via an HMI or remotely using Secomea secure VPN connection technology, the generators can be monitored and send diagnostic information back to the central monitoring software.
Powered on by Aquafuel and More Control, Romain Dumas and the VW IDR team set the fastest qualifying time ever at Pikes Peak. Despite having to start set-up at 2.30am and in the dark, the Generator Automation support team have the car fully charged and ready to go for qualifying at Pikes Peak.
The More Control dedicated and experienced technical team has over 100 years of automation experience between them, providing superior technical support using cutting edge technology. We specialise in motion control, robot integration, safety systems, PLC and vision inspection. Where automation is required, our team of automation engineers will work with you to turn your ideas into a reality.
