eRUF Stormster at e-Car Station
Image Credit: Siemens
Siemens presented three electric-powered Sports Utility Vehicles at the UN World Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The eRuf Stormsters are built by Ruf Automobile GmbH based on the Porsche Cayenne chassis. The electric SUV has an acceleration of 9 seconds from 0-100 km/h and a cruising range of around 180 km. The charging units are delivering 11kW at 400V three phase.
It is possible to charge the eCars with two different types of plugs. The standard version is up to 16 Ampere at either 3x400 Volt or 230 Volt.The eCar-Station can be equipped with a card reader so that it can only be used by users with a Siemens eCarD that activates one of the plugs. The other will remain voltage free. One car at a time can be charged in the standard version.
Siemens is hard at work on technologies for integrating electric cars into the public power grid. The development of methods to rapidly recharge the cars is just one of the company’s contributions to Denmark’s Edison project, which is the first to plug a pool of vehicles into the grid. Practical testing will begin in 2011 on the island of Bornholm. Siemens is also researching components for the electric cars themselves.
The company presented three additional demonstration cars at the Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen: the eRUF Stormster based on the chassis of the Porsche Cayenne. The vehicles built by Siemens and the automaker RUF are being used as shuttles. The 340 hp (250 kilowatt) Stormster has a maximum range of 180 kilometers on a full battery charge, accelerates to 100 kilometers per hour in nine seconds and reaches 150 kilometers per hour.
Denmark is driving the development of electric cars particularly hard because the cars’ batteries are to be used as intermediate storage for the fluctuating supply of electricity from wind power. Part of the research being conducted by an international consortium for the Edison project is therefore focused on how to optimize the bi-directional flow of electricity between the car and the grid.
For instance, Siemens Energy is developing rapid charging functions for the cars’ batteries. Instead of the usual 220 volts, the batteries will be charged in an initial step with 400 volts and 63 amps. The long-term goal is to achieve up to 300 kilowatts of charging capacity so that a car can be completely recharged in roughly six minutes.
The development engineers are also investigating how the constant switching on and off of the batteries affects the power grid. The harmonics this generates could knock the grid out of sync. Here Siemens Energy is working directly on the Ris ø research campus of the Technical University of Denmark, a partner in the Edison consortium.
Siemens Corporate Technology is currently developing the components for the new Greenster II electric car, which will go into small-series production in late 2010. A central innovation are the two rear wheels, each which is powered by its own electric motor. This allows the individual wheels to be optimally powered in every driving situation. The differential, which provides this function in central drive systems, is eliminated, making the car substantially lighter. In the future, each of the four wheels of an electric car is to have its own little drive system. The axle shaft, cardan shaft, and central motor will be eliminated, and the car gains installation space while saving weight.
eRuf Stormster
Image Credit: Siemens
