SCIENCES OF THE 21ST CENTURY – ELECTRIC MOBILITY

The Japanese have had electric cars on the market since early 2011. Peugeot, Nissan and Citroen too have been selling their electric models since 2011. Up until 2012 however, German manufacturers had delivered only show cars and promises. The Audi A1 Etron will not be launched until 2013. And BMW has announced that its first electric car will not be available before 2014. Its models I3 and I8 will apparently be proper electric cars and not just retrofitted petrol cars. The question remains however as to who will mass-produce the first electric car that is practical for everyday use? Because whosoever is the first to enter this market of the future will rule it for years to come. Are the large German manufacturers asleep on the job? It shouldn’t be a question of know-how. There are electric car pioneers in Germany, people like Heiko Fleck, as well as many creative like-minded people from the worlds of science and technology, who are feverishly researching the electric car of tomorrow. Fleck is currently building his new electric Porsche, a Porsche Boxster. He is using lithium iron phosphate cells from China for energy storage. It is the energy storage device that poses the greatest challenge to researchers. How can the battery store sufficient energy and still be light and safe? Scientists have been researching batteries for years using the same template: they change the composition of the storage cells and measure their characteristics. If the cell gains a longer service life or holds more energy due to changes to the chemical composition, the scientists continue their research in this direction. Granted, they may not all be Porsches, but the cars of the future will be electrically powered. Heiko Fleck simply did not want to wait until VW, Mercedes and Co. finally started producing electric cars. And he has proven that where there’s a will there’s a way. Even in Germany.