15 February 2011, Page: 12
MEET the men who make greenies in hybrid cars look like blowins.Germans Stefan Simmerer and Dirk Gion arrived in Sydney after travelling more than 5000km from Perth in their "windmobile'. Driving through Sydney yesterday the pair who describe themselves as science journalists, inventors and extreme sports fanatics turned heads with their unconventional vehicle. The Wind Explorer is the world's first self sufficient wind powered vehicle. It weighs 200kg and can travel at more than 90km/h.
By powering state of the art lithium-ion battery technology charged at night by a wind turbine and kites to harness extra wind, the car is so energy efficient it can cover 100km using just half the electricity needed to power a washing machine. The two men are the first to cross a continent in a vehicle powered by wind power. Mr Gion said Australia was the perfect continent as it was both a challenge and provided the conditions they needed to succeed.
The large sections of open road meant the two drivers were free to put their car to the test, using a handheld kite to propel the car to the highest possible speeds. That is why they enjoyed crossing the Nullarbor Desert the most. "In the Nullarbor with just 80kg of battery and using the kite we were able to cross 400km [a day], which is amazing", Mr Gion said.
However, the trip did not go smoothly all the way. In their 80 day journey the pair burned out two motors, blew a tyre at speed and the kite became tangled in power lines more than once. But even with these few bumps along the Wind Explorer's very long road, Mr Gion said the trip proved there were viable alternatives to fuel powered cars. "All the technology needed for a project like this was already there", Mr Gion said. "Renewable electric technology is all there and we wanted to prove it works and we proved it works over a long distance".
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