FORMULA E - INSTANT RECHARGING

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ELECTRIC CIRCUIT RACING

 

 

 

SMART GREEN & INTEGRATED TRANSPORT

 

This Challenge aims to boost the competitiveness of the European transport industries and achieve a European transport system that is resource-efficient, climate-and-environmentally-friendly, safe and seamless for the benefit of all citizens, the economy and society.

The Transport Challenge is allocated a budget of €6339 million for the period 2014-2020 and will contribute to four key objectives, each supported by specific activities.

Horizon 2020 will provide funding for a resource efficient transport that respects the environment by making aircraft, vehicles and vessels cleaner and quieter to minimise transport’s systems’s impact on climate and the environment, by developing smart equipment, infrastructures and services and by improving transport and mobility in urban areas.

Horizon 2020 also aims at a better mobility, less congestion, more safety and security with a substantial reduction of traffic congestion; with a substantial improvement in the mobility of people and freight; by developing new concepts of freight transport and logistics and by reducing accident rates, fatalities and casualties and improving security.

Horizon 2020 supports a global leadership for the European transport industry by reinforcing the competitiveness and performance of European transport manufacturing industries and related services including logistic processes and retain areas of European leadership (e.g. such as aeronautics).

Horizon 2020 targets a socio-economic and behavioural research and forward looking activities for policy making. The aim is to support improved policy making which is necessary to promote innovation and meet the challenges raised by transport and the societal needs related to it.

These activities are addressed in this Work Programme by three Calls for proposals:

Mobility for Growth
Green Vehicles
Small Business and Fast Track Innovation for Transport

In addition to the three Calls for proposal, other actions will be implemented by calls for tenders or by other instruments (‘Other actions’). These actions are part of the Transport Challenge envelope and complement the content of the three Calls

 

 

 

Ecostar club racer featuring the patent Bluebird™ instant recharging system that is ideal for sustainable smart cities. The sad news is that the company developing this cutting edge technology will not qualify for EU, Local Enterprise or TSB funding under the current rules that support companies with a trading record and university research, rather than start-ups with fresh ideas. In the 1990s the Dti refused funding for the development of a similar system on the pretext that there was no future for battery electric vehicles. That  decision allowed competitor companies to gain the technology lead. Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge. We say that leadership requires imagination. Pity we can't bottle some up for the Dti.

 

 


Transport Research Arena

 

TRA 2014 PARTNERING EVENT - HORIZON 2020

The Partnering Event is your opportunity to identify and connect with future partners for technology partnering or international projects – free of charge after registration to the conference. You can choose your conversation partners prior to the start of the conference by visiting the partnering event website http://www.b2match.eu/tra2014. You tell us when you are available for meetings (each last 20 minutes) and we will provide you with a meeting place in the central arena.

Find partners for Horizon 2020 projects


Show organisations from all over Europe how your technology/service can solve their problem
Get your problem solved – meet with companies and researchers offering ready-for-use transport solutions

Who should attend?

The Partnering Event at TRA2014 invites business representatives and researchers who are interested in transnational co-operation to get to know each other and present their solutions and activities. You can meet and discuss any type of cooperation.

You can meet representatives from all over Europe in the fields of:

* Environment and Energy
* Industry Competitiveness
* Logistics and Mobility Systems and Services
* Safety and Security
* Transport Infrastructures
* Transport Policy Research / Socio-economic / Human sciences
* Vehicles & Vessels Technologies

for the transport modes:

Road
Rail
Waterborne
Cross-modality

How does it works ?

Step 1: When completing the conference registration process for TRA at:

 

http://www.traconference.eu/about-tra/registration.html

 

Simply check the box “I would like to participate in the partnering event”.

Step2: After your registration you will receive an invitation to submit one or more profiles presenting your company/organisation, your technology interest (what you can offer others or what you are looking for) and the type of cooperation you are looking for.

Register these before 27.03.2014 at:  http://www.b2match.eu/tra2014


Step 3 : Until 03.04.2014 you can browse the online catalogue and identify interesting partners
request your individual meetings confirm or decline meetings requested by other organisations, etc.

 

CONTACTS

Ifsttar
TRA 2014
Cité Descartes – 14-20, bd Newton 77447 Champs-sur-Marne Marne-la-Vallée
Cedex 2
France
Email : tra2014@ifsttar.fr   tips@sophiari.eu
Site Web: www.traconference.eu

 

To book a stand contact:

Daniel CHÉTRIT
Le Public Système PCO
Tel: + 33 1 70 94 65 08
Email: dchetrit@lepublicsysteme.fr

 

 

 

 

TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY BOARD - CALL 2013/14

 

Funding at the 60% rate for SME's is no incentive to high risk development of disruptive technology. It is a recipe for disaster that the big players relish. They love nothing more than knocking down new players with smart ideas that threaten the production of existing vehicles, which they can then scoop up a few years later at no cost to themselves.

 

The Technology Board must know this, hence, the "call" is a means to flush out new ideas that inventors should be entitled to benefit from, at no cost to the establishment. One could argue that 60% funding is therefore perverse. Indeed, the patent system is perverse, for it requires huge sums of money from struggling innovators - just to acquire rights that a writer or film-maker gain automatically for free.

 

The system has got to change, to stop discrimination against the engineering profession. Engineers should be able to protect their work affordably.

 

 

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: APC

 

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), in partnership with the Automotive Council and the Technology Strategy Board, is to invest up to £75m in collaborative R&D projects in the field of low carbon vehicles. 

 

The competition will support a small number of projects that will form the initial portfolio for the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC). 

 

The APC is the centrepiece of the new joint industry and government strategy for the automotive sector and is being launched to help develop, commercialise and enable the manufacture of advanced propulsion technologies in the UK. The funding of these projects is a precursor to a steady state of funding throughout the lifetime of the APC. 

 

The projects are expected to start in April 2014. They will strengthen UK capability and develop and grow the UK's propulsion systems supply chain. Projects must be collaborative and business-led. We expect total eligible project costs to be between £10m and £40m. The funding will be split between industrial research, with a business partner attracting 50% public funding for their project costs (60% for SMEs), and experimental development, with a business partner attracting 25% funding (35% for a medium-sized company and 45% for small enterprises). Projects are expected to last between 18 and 42 months.

 

This competition opens on 2 December 2013. The deadline for registration is at noon on 29 January 2014 and the deadline for applications is at noon on 5 February 2014

 

A briefing event via webinar is to be held on 4 December 2013

 

* Key features: Investment of up to £75m in collaborative R&D projects for low carbon vehicles.

* Programme: Collaborative research and development

* Award: Up to £75m

* Opens: 03 Dec 2013

* Registration closes: 29 Jan 2014

* Closes: 05 Feb 2014

* Support Telephone Number: 0300 321 4356

 

 

 

COLLABORATION

 

Collaborative research and development (R&D) encourages businesses and researchers to work together on innovative projects in strategically important areas of science, engineering and technology – from which successful new products, processes and services can emerge, contributing to business and economic growth. Each £1 we invest in collaborative R&D typically returns around £7 in GVA (Gross Value Added).

By co-funding projects involving partnerships between businesses and between business and academia, collaborative R&D reduces financial and technical risk and encourages knowledge exchange, supply chain development and parallel working on complex challenges.

 

CONTACTS

 

Email: support@innovateuk.org

 

Vessel Efficiency II - better systems at sea

Enhancing Manufacturing through automation

Disruptive technologies in low carbon vehicles II

Vessel efficiency: Piloting UK marine and maritime innovation

 

 

EU HORIZON 2020 – WORK PROGRAMME 2014-2015


Smart, green and integrated transport Part 11 – page 51 of 87

 

MG.8.2-2014. Next generation transport infrastructure: resource efficient, smarter and safer Specific challenge: In order to increase the performance of infrastructure to accommodate increasing transport demand, the 21st century transport infrastructure needs to be more resource efficient, smarter and safer. This requires a range of innovative solutions, including for intelligent traffic management, low-carbon construction and energy-harvesting. In order to implement effective infrastructure management, advanced methods for data collection (including automatic sensing) and analysis have to be developed. In addition, a better integration of infrastructure in its natural habitat with a reduced intrusion of noise, air
pollution and vibration should be achieved. Another challenge consists in developing solutions for infrastructure to actively contribute to enhancing the safety level of the European roads.


Scope: Research and innovation actions could address any of the following domains:


• Infrastructure specific solutions for enhanced cross-modal inter-connectivity and active traffic management, leveraging European GNSS enabled real-time location data, capable of providing optimal responses to changes in conditions of the network (e.g. weather, works, incidents) by all actors in the value chain (infrastructure operators, owners and users).
• Innovative concepts and methods for alternative fuels infrastructure (in particular for roads and ports) to facilitate its deployment in Europe.
• Energy harvesting infrastructure.
• Infrastructure-based pro-active safety systems, including advanced predictive models and simulations.
• Methods for preventing disruption of critical infrastructure from malicious acts.

Proposals can either focus on technological progress and further advancement in knowledge (Research and Innovation Actions) or on reinforcing networking among operators with a view to enhance the effectiveness of the sector (Coordination and Support Actions).


In line with the Union's strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation international cooperation is encouraged.


Effective integration of SMEs in the value chain is strongly recommended.


The Commission considers that projects requesting a contribution from the EU between the range of 3 to 5 million euro for Research and Innovation Actions, and 0.5 to 1.0 for Coordination and Support Actions, would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected impact: The work is expected to contribute to:


• Improvement of infrastructure capacity and incident management by means of added value mobility services across different modes.
• Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure in Europe according to the Clean Power for Transport Package objectives.
• Reduction of infrastructure operation energy intensity and subsequent CO2 emissions.

 

 

Systeme Bluebird, the instant cartridge energy exchange system for Formula E cars of the future

Head on view of a prototype Formula E design with the Bluebird™ instant 

refueling system incorporated. (see plan and side views below)

 

 

INSTANT PIT STOP RECHARGING FOR FORMULA E CARS

 

A high speed development of patent GB2253379 has yielded a chassis design for Formula E cars that does not radically change the aerodynamics, seating or weight distribution of a Formula E racing car. In fact the weight distribution can be improved over Formula 1.

 

The drawings on this page are of a basic prototype, closed cockpit design, incorporating a 246 liter (0.246m2)  battery cartridge that can be exchanged in 10-15 seconds using an inbuilt loader. Such a cartridge could provide a 60-86kW/hr pack. Sufficient for 20-40 minute high speed laps, depending on the power of your car's motors, drag, etc. This is using standard Lithium Ion Polymer technology (Li-ion). More exotic lithium compounds may increase performance - and fuel cells are something to consider, where the cartridge used in the exchange system is compatible.

 

Compare this to these cars:

 

 

CURRENT PRODUCTION BATTERY PACK EXAMPLES

.

.

.

.

.

MAKE

MODEL

ENERGY CAPACITY kW

TYPE

MASS Kg

.

.

.

.

BYD

e6

    48.00

LiFePO4

 - -

Ford

Focus 

    23.00

Li-ion

     272.00

Mitsubishi

MiEV

      16.00

Li-ion

   - -

Nissan

Leaf

   24.00

Li-ion

   300.00

Renault

Fluence

  22.00

Li-ion

   250.00

.

.

      .

.

     .

.

.

.

.

.

 

Put this into perspective for a moment. Any one of the vehicles above will have a significant range improvement if using the standard Bluebird™battery cartridge + of course instant recharging.

 

The cartridge can be modified only before it is adopted generally (not after), if the FIA would like to furnish us with their considered views - but the all new mechanism and connections may not be materially altered, and is subject to confidentiality by agreement until the patent specification is published (which must be in early 2014 according to the Intellectual Property Office). 

 

Formula E teams may avail themselves of a free developer License from Bluebird Marine Systems Ltd. Once the formalities are completed, designers may see how the cartridge is shoehorned into the design featured here. They are free to detail design their own high-speed loading mechanism, based on this patent concept - the object being to lower cartridge exchange times which may yield exchanges is say 5 seconds - giving those teams incorporating the system, a massive advantage in lap time averages.

 

 

Side view of a prototype Formula E design with the Bluebird™ instant 

refueling system incorporated.

 

 

Plan view of a prototype Formula E design with the Bluebird™ instant refueling system 

incorporated. Please note that these designs are © Bluebird Marine Systems Ltd 2013.

 

 

 

ROAD CARS

 

Shai Agassi might want to take a peek at what is going on in Formula E, where refueling for urban vehicles may be speeded up considerably to make our world a 'Better Place.' Sorry Shai, we couldn't resist it.

 

 

UTILITIES

 

Bluebird Marine Systems (BMS) is looking to conduct a feasibility study on high speed cartridge refueling in cities, side by side with a distribution supply network. BMS is looking for collaborative risk share partners and academic institutions interested in reducing pollution. Enquiries from energy generation companies are particularly welcomed, with a view to increasing profitability via load-leveling.  

 

 

Li-ion SPECIFICS Ref: Wikipedia

 

specific energy

100–265 W·h/kg

(0.36–0.95 MJ/kg)
energy density

250–730 W·h/L

(0.90–2.23 MJ/L)
specific power ~250-~340 W/kg

 

 

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

 

it all started in 1990/91, way before our involvement, with patent application GB2253379. This system was developed and fitted into the BE1 land speed record vehicle seen on the left in the drawings below - and in the brochures and articles that follow. 

 

 

BE1, racing car LSR design using the Bluebird electric vehicle battery cartridge exchange system

BE2 land speed record car using the Bluebird Cartridge Instant Refueling System

 

Left to right: BE1, BE2 and the latest BE3 world electric land speed record cars. Note the increase in frontal area for the BE2 to accommodate a larger battery cartridge. Compared to BE1 and BE2, the BE3 has a smaller frontal area. The BE1 had wheels and suspension outside of the bodywork - which is not shown in the diagram here. The latest BE3 is considerably lower than either of its predecessors. Please note that BE1 and BE2 designs are copyright © NJK 1991 and 1995. The BE3 is copyright © Bluebird Marine Systems Ltd 2013.

 

NOTE: the loading system used in the BE1 and BE2 are not suitable for use in Formula E.

 

 

 

A brochure produced to attract sponsors to the BE1 project for 1995/6. The patented cartridge exchange refueling system is cited as the key technology for the attempt.

Not a bad looking car and as it turned out, quite fast - more than capable of taking the 175mph record at the time. This car achieved 160mph unofficially on a section of closed road with 80kW (107hp) motors - the short length of useable road being a limiting factor. She was designed to use 160kW (214 hp) motors for the WLSR attempt - all wheel drive, thus should have caned the then existing record of 175mph. The BE1 chassis was incredibly light and could be lifted above the head with one hand. The cartridge system further reduced the mass of the vehicle between runs. The big sister to the BE1, the BE2, was to have run with 320kW and double the cartridge capacity.

 

 

 

By October of 1995 Kitcars International had done an article as seen in the pages above. You can see this is the same photograph used in the brochure above. It was taken in front of Filching Manor, near Polegate in Sussex with kind permission of Paul Foulkes-Halbard - a dear friend now departed.

 

 

 

 

By September of 1997 the project had progressed as the land speed record had been raised, necessitating a faster design. Don Wales is pictured in this edition of Auto Express beside the BE2 (top) and the BE1 (lower). You can see a schematic of the BE2 in the drawings above and compare that to the BE3 to see just how much more advanced the new car is.

 

 

 

100 years old this year - the Detroit electric car from 1914. With more than 100,000 electric cars on U.S. roads - and thousands more added each month - advocates and historians are turning their attention to the last time cars with plugs rolled out of U.S. factories, almost 100 years ago. But as far as we know, there's no single museum or entity in the U.S. whose sole mission is to present the history of plug-in electric cars. That may be about to change, if a post in electric-vehicle forum Electrifying Times by collector and historian Roderick Wilde is any indication.

 

 


FUEL CLEANUP IN USA MARCH 29 2013

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed cleaner fuel and car standards that would greatly reduce pollution levels, improve Americans’ health and lead to widespread adoption of more efficient vehicles. The new standards would reduce the volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides that lead to smog by 80%, reduce particulate matter by 70% and reduce fuel vapor emissions almost entirely. The anticipated health benefits would be major, with up to 2,400 premature deaths avoided each year and 23,000 less cases of respiratory ailments in kids. Put another way, the agency estimates that the standards will save $7 in health care costs for every $1 spent to implement them.

The standards will help individual states to reduce their smog and soot levels, prevent bad air days and improve public health and they include some flexibility for small businesses including “additional lead time for compliance.”

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley made the following statement in response: “The new motor fuel standards proposed today by the Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama’s leadership will help Maryland reach its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020. Reductions from mobile sources are one of the most important strategies needed to provide clean air to Maryland’s citizens for generations to come. Today’s actions will also provide a significant benefit to the Chesapeake Bay as approximately one-third of its nitrogen issues are caused by air pollution.”

Other governors in states battling dirty air have also applauded the standards. Connecticut Governmor Dannel P. Malloy is quoted as saying: “In Connecticut, we are taking action to show that we can have a strong economy and a healthy environment, and the new standards for motor vehicles and fuels announced today by EPA are consistent with our approach. I applaud EPA’s help taking on the most significant source of air pollution - cars, trucks and other so-called mobile sources - and look forward to prompt finalization of the rule so we all breathe cleaner air.”

Even vehicles built before the new standards would stand to benefit, thanks to the inclusion of sulfur reduction in gasoline. Once in place in 2017, every state would follow the clean car and fuel standards set by California.

While the EPA notes that the proposal would add just 1 cent per gallon to gas costs, oil industry officials claim it could raise prices by 2 cents per gallon on average, and as much as 9 cents per gallon in some areas, according to a story in the Washington Post.

Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the new rules would present a financial hardship and force the U.S. to import more oil from abroad. But even auto companies support the regulations, preferring national sulfur standards. California sets the limit of sulfur in gasoline to 10 parts per million; the other 49 states allow sulfur up to 30 parts per million. The new standards would bring all states to California’s level. Because sulfur makes catalytic converters less effective, it causes them to produce more harmful emissions and particles that contribute to smog and soot.

“The only ones against these standards are the oil companies,” Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, is quoted as saying.


Smart green transport, Europa air, road and water

 

 

Bluebird battery cartridges   Contact BMS Design by email or telephone UK:  Bluebird cartridge exchange system

 

Contact Licensing:  Email Bluebird Marine Systems Ltd, for your free developer license            

+44 (0) 1323 831727

+44 (0) 7842 607865

   Bluebird solar panels  Intelligent Battery Support System    Blue bird electric motors trademark logo

THE BLUE BIRDS OF HAPPINESS

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

A typical Formula E open wheell racing car, before design modification

 

 

ENERGY LINKS:

 

ENERGY GENERATING-DISTRIBUTION UTILITIES

 

 

 

 

 

Solar assisted electric car 

 

Wow! At last solar panels on production cars. Henry would love it.

 

 

 

FORMULA E LINKS:

 

Birmingham Super Prix return and the Formula E series

Bluebird™ FE instant pit stop recharging system for Formula E cars*

Bluebird GTL*

Dallara

Drayson

Formulec

Pit Stops - servicing and history of the sport

Spark Racing Technology

Sustainable Championship

Team China Racing

E Mag USA new standards for cleaner cars

http://www.washingtonpost.com/epa-proposes-requiring-cleaner-fuel-cars-in-the-us

Europa Road

Greener road transport

Modal shift and decongestion of transport corridors

Sustainable urban transport

Safety and security

Competitiveness

ERTRAC

Green cars initiative

The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative

 

 

* Note, there is no connection between the Bluebird™ FE system and the Bluebird GTL team

 

 

 

Bluebird recharging system concept Formula E racing car Bluebird instant pit stop recharging system, Formula E concept design
Formula E instant refuelling system concept Bluebird patent design

 

The world's fastest electric circuit racers need a system to recharge batteries instantly during pit stops. The Formula E concept design above incorporates the patent Bluebird™ instant energy transfer system - allowing EV refuelling in around 10 seconds. Get your free developer License from Bluebird Marine Systems Ltd. 

 

 

FIA approval for battery cartridge exchange

 

 

This website is Copyright © 2014 Bluebird Marine Systems Limited.   The names Bluebird™,Blueplanet BE3 Ecostar DC50™, Utopia Tristar™ and the blue bird in flight Bluebird trademark legend, blue bird in flight logo logo are trademarks. The color blue is an protected element of mark.