Blueplanet Ecostar 

Solar powered WORLD electric Land Speed Record car

The 'Blueplanet Ecostar' electric streamliner with built in battery cartridge refueling system. Note that this wind tunnel model shown on this page is the old design. A new wind tunnel model is being produced for testing in 2014 for the 2015/16

All of us at Max Energy Limited are proud to be associated with this extremely worthwhile electric land speed record project. Why? Because this is not just an attempt to go faster. This car incorporates an innovative range extender for electric vehicles - and the attempt is solar powered. Yes, that's right, this high performance racing car is powered by energy from nature. How many 350 mph plus streamliners can claim that?

PROJECT BACKGROUND 

It all began with a patent application for a 170 mph 3 liter V6 petrol engined joystick car, which took the best part of 6 years to hand build. Soon after that our friendly Sussex (UK) based eco-innovator filed his second patent. This time he wanted to build an electric car that had a respectable range. The only way he could think of to achieve this, was to fit new batteries as quickly as possible, when the old ones were drained.

The Mercedes/AMG electric drive motor arrangement above is very similar in concept to that

incorporated in the BE3 design.

Typically, the designers wanted their car to be as self-supporting as possible. Thus, the car had to have an integral mechanism to change batteries, and logically, the batteries would have to be one large cartridge. He designed and tested a fast pneumatic loading system based on two cylinders, one at each end of the vehicle. Later cars featured the same cartridge, but a flat electrically powered servo at each end of the vehicle. This system was successfully fitted into a road car, with cartridge exchange speeds of around a minute - faster than filling up with petrol.

So that is the concept behind the latest 'Blueplanet Ecostar' electric world challenger, a further development of two original LSR concept racing cars from 1993/5 and 1996/7 featuring battery cartridge exchange as a means of refueling the car after each flying mile run: the BE1 and BE2. The BE1 did a run between Polegate and Pevensey reaching 160mph, which is faster than the present British electric land speed record as at March 2013.

The inventor was granted a patent for his original system and is keeping his latest improvements a secret, to be able to apply for additional patent protection should funds be secured for this valuable social research. The BE2 is arguably the most beautiful land speed record car to date, which we hope to surpass with the BE3's curves.

The Blueplanet Ecostar is the only electric LSR vehicle to feature built in battery cartridge refueling. It is considered that the Blueplanet Ecostar LSR has all the ingredients to set a blistering pace across sand and salt. It is 'possibly' the most powerful electric car in the world.  Development of such a system for road cars ceased after the UK Department of Trade and Industry (Dti) formally advised that battery electric cars had limited prospects. Funding of such development is always a problem for innovators, and that body blow from 'Foresight' killed all thought of investment until a call for proposals from the European Commission and then NineSigma in 2012 rekindled hope. Unfortunately, we were not in a position to apply in 2012, even though we had the ability to carry out the fundamental research.

We at Max Energy believe that the future of motoring rests with the development of efficient electric vehicles, be they solar assisted, hybrid, battery or fuel cell. But all of these formats will benefit by battery cartridge exchange - which allows near instant refueling.

For 2014/15 the chassis has been redesigned to cope with more power and a new transmission.  A package the designer hopes will propel the Blueplanet Ecostar™ into the international record books and could eventually break the 400 mph barrier.  He says: "It would be a gigantic leap forward if we can get an electric vehicle to compete with its piston petrol powered rivals.  The record book would then have gone full cycle, where the first land speed record was indeed electric."

Currently there are two teams to beat:-

1. The speed record to beat is Ohio State University's 271mph international (flying Km) record set in 2004 on the Bonneville Salt Flats in their 30' car "Buckeye Bullet." 

2. Pat Rummerfield's White Lightning is waiting in the wings to race again, should any car take his one mile record.

Featuring a unique transmission and curvaceous styling, computer analysis reveals that in its current form the Blueplanet Ecostar is capable of significantly exceeding 350 mph.  The car is to be constructed in Sussex, England, aiming for a showing in 2015-16.  However, the engineers point out that they are still searching for a Prime Sponsor such as an energy company, motor manufacturer or both, without whom the attempts planned for 2015 and 2016 may not take place.

As and when the Blueplanet Ecostar breaks the 300 mph barrier and more, we hope this feat will underpin the aspirations of many Governments for efficient road going performance EV's, without having to worry about range.

BE1 electric land speed record car drawing showing the servo above in green

and the battery cartridge in red, as installed in this historic electric vehicle, which

will be on display with the BE2 and BE3 when the latest WLSR car is on wheels.

Click on the drawing above to see the BE1 chassis under construction in the workshop.

Few people have so much hands on experience experimenting with battery cartridge exchange mechanisms. We are inviting motor manufacturers to consider working with our design engineers, not only to prototype (convert) a car from your existing range of vehicles to incorporate battery cartridge refueling, but also to prototype electric vehicle refueling forecourts - with Pay As You Drive (PAYD) intelligent battery support.

 How solar panels are made

The future is in our hands. It's up to us to do something now to head off a potential fuel shortage catastrophe. In the UK a new partnership has been formed to build energy self sufficient housing. The larger village and town development include a site for EV refueling via cartridge exchange, partly fed by local macro generation. See: Utopia Tristar for details. It is now a requirement in the UK when planning towns and cities, to include ways of reducing emissions from transport. What better way than electric vehicles with the infrastructure to support them. In the early days of petrol cars there was no infrastructure either - no petrol pumps, just cans of petrol sold at local hardware stores.

Transport is no longer a luxury, it's a modern day necessity. As petrol becomes more expensive and scarce, it makes sense to plan for the changeover to clean electric motoring - it is the future. But in order for such a system to become a reality, car makers around the globe will need to agree a universal format for battery cartridges and a delivery system to match. This has been the ultimate objective since a patent was granted in 1995 for such a system. To date no patent has been filed for any particular cartridge design or loading mechanism. To date no patent has been filed for a service station to supply battery cartridges.

Contact the battery cartridge exchange license holders: 

+44 (0) 1323 831727

+44 (0) 7842 607865

   Contact us:    or phone UK: 

+44 (0) 1323 831727

+44 (0) 7842 607865

  Intelligent Battery Support System   

THE BLUE BIRDS OF HAPPINESS

Intelligent Battery Support System

The designer has been hand crafting vehicles since 1982.  He uses Autocad to design them in his study. He is a skilled welder and fabricator. He is also adept at making moulds for composites and spray-paints his own cars. He was a member of the Guild of Master Craftsmen before constructing cars. In a world of mechanisation, there are just a few craftsmen around who can claim to hand build their prototypes from scratch. For this reason, to date the average cost of one of Nelson's custom builds is less the £150,000. Batteries not included. It is estimated that the 'Blueplanet Ecostar' may be constructed for less than £400,000.

Once the care is built, an attempt on the outright electric land speed record may be mounted for about another £400,000. With John Campbell at the wheel we at Max Energy believe that this winning formula will appeal to manufacturers of consumer electronics, telecoms and maybe even motor manufacturers.

Brussels, 28 February 2013 - Guide to financial incentives to promote energy efficient vehicles

The European Commission published today new guidelines on how Member States should use financial incentives to best increase demand for low CO2 emission vehicles. Currently, rules on financial incentives differ across the EU, but a common framework could help facilitate the assembly of larger quantities of such vehicles, prompting lower prices for consumers. Incentives can be useful instruments to foster the low CO2 producing vehicle industry, but they can also create trade distortions. To address this issue, mandatory principles under the guidelines include non-discrimination with regard to the origin of the vehicle, the respect of EU state aid and procurement rules, and building on best practices in this domain. Member States must consider these principles in order not to violate the EU Treaty provisions, while other principles are recommended (see below).

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, said: "The Commission has long supported the development of clean and energy efficient vehicles. These guidelines, and the common framework proposed for financial incentives, will simultaneously help reduce CO2 emissions and increase demand for clean cars. Financial incentives from Member States are very powerful instruments to foster their market penetration. But to ensure a level playing field for business and have a significant effect on the market, we need a common framework."

In order to further enhance the uptake of cleaner cars, today during the Formula 1 test days in Barcelona Vice-President Tajani also unveiled the Volar-e, one the most powerful electric cars ever made (for more information see MEMO/13/151). 

Link to Guidelines: 

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/automotive/environment/financial/index_en.htm

This website is copyright © 1991- 2013 Electrick Publications. All rights reserved. The bird logo and names Blueplanet Ecostar and Bluebird are trademarks ™.  The Blueplanet BE3 vehicle configuration is registered ®.  All other trademarks hereby acknowledged.   Max Energy Limited is an educational charity working for world peace.