Zero South Introduces Biodiesel Monster Truck Ice Crawler
The guys over at Zero South, in conjunction with “Drive Around the World” have created a Biodiesel Monster truck ice crawler for driving to the South Pole.
Zero South plans to use the vehicle to bring attention to global warming and raise awareness for the viability of fossil fuel alternatives by taking four different alternative fuel vehicles to the South pole next month. The plan has actually been modified recently and it is said that Jay Leno will be helping to install a VW diesel four-cylinder engine to act as a generator for four electric motors powering each track cluster.
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Pioneering astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Steve Wozniak have signed up to make the drive and they will be joined by scientists from Caltech, JPL and NASA.
The project includes a documentary feature film and a two-year education tour across the U.S. in which kids can climb inside an alternative-fuel vehicle that actually drove to the South Pole and experience the virtual Expedition.
Photo courtesy of Lush.i.ous via Flickr Creative Commons License.
Is this a straight diesel-electric vehicle as in train engines, or does it also incorporate batteries?
The vehicles are serial-diesel-electric hybrids. A smaller ICE engine powering UQM or KAMAN permanent magnet motors, one mounted to each differential. The entire center of the vehicle, between the frame rails is a 200kW lithium battery box.
The concept of using a Hammer vehicle of >10,000 lb to carry a 4 passenger and maybe 200 lb of cargo is the least efficient way of transportation.
This vehicle travels, slow therefore most of energy is to overcome the weight and the main challenge is to reduce the weight to be efficient and it appears that publicity has superseded the common sense of vehicle system engineering.