ADSactly Tech News - Are We Gearing Up for an Electric Future?
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Fossil fuels are slowly and steadily being phased out in regard to automobiles and alternate forms of transportation including shipping.
As it becomes increasingly important to focus on sustainability industries are working hard to find cleaner solutions in an effort to get humanity off its addiction to more harmful technology.
I've always had a fascination for technology. The latest and greatest attracts me like a moth to a flame. I remember as a young teen always trying to go to the drug store to browse the magazine section. At the time they weren't covered in plastic so you could easily spend ten or fifteen minutes flipping through the newest edition of Popular Science or Popular Mechanics.
Is it really all that it is hyped up to be? What are its flaws and what possible reasons may there be for it not living up to all its hype. In today's article I'd like to discuss a few prominent electric inventions that have real potential to bring about a more sustainable world. I know that electric isn't necessarily clean either because it must be generated one way or another with common generation methods still focusing on oil, coal and nuclear means. Still, I do feel it is a step in the right direction.
So, without further let me tell you about a few cool new electronic vehicles that have the potential to really disrupt our world.
The first topic I'd like to discuss is a vehicle focused on delivering cargo. Some call it the ‘Tesla of the canals’, but what is it? Well to put it simply, it is an unmanned barge that will operate on Dutch and Belgian waterways. It hardly needs to be said that this new barge will vastly reduce diesel emissions and bring about a cleaner and more eco-friendly future!
The world’s first fully electric, emission-free and potentially crewless container barges are to operate from the ports of Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam from this summer.
The vessels, designed to fit beneath bridges as they transport their goods around the inland waterways of Belgium and the Netherlands, are expected to vastly reduce the use of diesel-powered trucks for moving freight.
Everyday I'm amazed at how far electric vehicular technology has come. I remember just a few weeks back writing about the first fully electric semi-truck to hit the market from Tesla. I've also written about electric flying cars and motorbikes if you'd like to get a look at some of my other electric articles!
This barge is definitely a step in the right direction and environment lovers across the world will agree that reducing the use of diesel-powered trucks should be high on the to-do list of sustainability efforts.
Dubbed the “Tesla of the canals”, their electric motors will be driven by 20-foot batteries, charged on shore by the carbon-free energy provider Eneco.
The barges are designed to operate without any crew, although the vessels will be manned in their first period of operation as new infrastructure is erected around some of the busiest inland waterways in Europe.
Amazing technology has been incorporated into this new barge indeed! Can you imagine? It has been made possible by 20-foot batteries! Also the fact that they have been made to be operated without human intervention is a technological marvel in itself!
In August, five barges - 52 metres long and 6.7m wide, and able to carry 24 20ft containers weighing up to 425 tonnes - will be in operation. They will be fitted with a power box giving them 15 hours of power. As there is no need for a traditional engine room, the boats have up to 8% extra space, according to their Dutch manufacturer, Port Liner.
About 23,000 trucks, mainly running on diesel, are expected to be removed from the roads as a result.
These are huge barges! They will contribute to bringing about a cleaner future. As stated above 23,000 trucks will be taken off the road as a result of this new electric fleet of cargo barges! What a time to be alive eh?
Ton van Meegen the company’s chief executive, told shipping industry trade journal the Loadstar that the barges are the first in the world to sail on carbon-neutral batteries and that without the low bridges in the countries they operate in, they would even be able to be loaded with more goods.
I completely love this new initiative to introduce clean carbon-neutral vessels which will actually play a positive impact in our world by making it a cleaner and more sustainable place to live!
Another worthy vehicle of the future is the Tesla Model 3. I'm still amazed that an all-electric car could look this good! According to one of Canada’s top automotive sites, Driving, the Tesla Model 3 is everything expected and more. “The most hyped car of this century actually delivers.” and “it sure feels like the future in here."
But what makes it so great? Is it the features, the looks, the tech? Well it must be all of the above in addition to a stellar performance and a smooth ride!
According to a recent article, the interior was said to be “a remarkably minimalist affair with no complex angles … [and] with its huge glass roof, the cabin is remarkably airy and outward visibility is generally good.” The Model 3’s touchscreen allows “Tesla’s system [to be] intuitive and easy to negotiate.” And its unique HVAC system is “a wonderfully effective system, distributing air evenly and quietly.”
Are you sold yet? I've wanted one since day one but alas my current financial position doesn't afford me one just yet! I can still dream though right?
But what about performance? That's what its all about when things are said and done eh?
According to the article's author, it’s “not as blisteringly fast as big brother Model S, [but] the 3 is still very quick, and unlike most turbocharged and multi-geared gas drivetrains that require a few beats to wake up when the throttle is pressed, this little Tesla surges ahead on an instant and silent wave of torque from any speed. You want throttle response? This writes the book.”
Well the only way to really see if this is true or not is to go take a test drive and see for yourself.... What do you think of the new Tesla Model 3 based on what has been said in this article? Does it look like a car you'd like to get your hands on?
The final vehicle I'd like to discuss is the Kalk. In January, Cake introduced a new electric off-road motorcycle at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Denver. It is only half as heavy as a regular motorcycle. It weighs just under 155 pounds and can travel—silently—up to 50 miles on a battery charge.
I have long been a fan of motorcycles and motorbikes. I've found that having lived in Asia for several years especially in SE Asia motorbikes are a way of life! If you don't have one or get a ride on one, you often won't be arriving on time to meetings / appointments etc. Traffic is a huge obstacle because the roads were never built to accomodate the massive numbers of commuters they support these days...
Cake, led by its fearless CEO Stefan Ytterborn, a Swedish national is attempting to create a new category of product, à la the iPad, the SUP, and, of course, the mountain bike.
The bike is for “anybody who’s attracted to it,” Ytterborn says. “I don’t believe in genders. I don’t believe in age. I believe in neutrality.”
Personally this bike excites me. I would love to get my hands on one and test it out with the type of road conditions pictured above. I've long been an enthusiast of mountain biking
The Kalk looks like the love child of a mountain bike and a motocross bike that was conceived at an Ikea store (a former Ytterborn client from his pre-POC career in design and branding). The frame, body, and chainstays are metallic; the stanchions are golden; and the saddle, fork, and fenders are white. The bike is noticeably sleeker and less burly than its moto predecessors but not as svelte as its mountain forebears. Whereas Alta Motors’ Redshift bike, perhaps the closest counterpart, has distinctly motocross DNA, Ytterborn considers the Kalk to be 70 percent downhill or enduro mountain bike and 30 percent motorbike.
The Kalk is surely an impressive bike and I'm instantly jealous of anybody that has already had a chance to test this bad boy out!
What do you think of this new modern age of electric mountain/motocross hybrid bikes? Does this excite you as well?
How do you feel about all these new vehicles? Are you impressed with the electric barges, electric cars and electric motorcycles I've discussed in this article? Do you think we will see other countries racing to develop additional forms of transportation focused around sustainable energy practices?
Here's a chance for the @ADSactly community to leave their thoughts and opinions on this topic!
Thanks for reading.
Authored by: @techblogger
In-text citations sources:
World's first electric container barges to sail from European ports this summer - The Guardian
Review Of The Tesla Model 3 From “Driving,” Canadian Auto Magazine - Clean Technica
Cake Is Making Electric Motorcycles for the Masses - Outside Online
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Pexels
Outside Online
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Well, I'm a huge fan.
I don't know why we don't see more electric pleasure boats. Most of them are day trippers and could easily be charged as needed.
One of my very best friends is a maintenance man at the Giga Factory in Sparks. Obviously they get to put hands on the cars and Tesla brought the truck in one day for all the employees to touch and feel. Matt says it is just incredible. It should hit production with in a year. My friend Matt is a born gearhead and if he says it passes.... (He actually has a Lotus Seven project underway)
The bikes. I've put just a few miles on a Motus, but I was seriously impressed. The one I road was the 'street' variant, but the Dirt Bike variant looks so cool. It's a little heavy for the real dirt, but power on is instant and range is getting up around 200 miles. They are close to viable indeed. For a commuter they would be perfect!
I subscribed to Popular Science and Popular Mechanics for years!
Thanks for a great look at things to come.
Electric pleasure boats sound nice. Wow, what a lucky experience to get to see that new truck up close and personal! I've got to get my hands on one of those bikes asap! Cool we both enjoyed reading the same publications. Those magazines always had something cool to see and learn about!
I realize that you are like @velimir: a lover of motorcycles! In my opinion, electric cars are beginning to gain ground in the automobile industry, due to their clear advantages over traditional fuel cars in terms of consumption savings, respect for the environment, and other reasons. Despite this, I believe, that the electric car sector is still not important enough, @techblogger In part it is because surely governments and the brands themselves have not focused on selling the product enough. I think there's an oil mafia that would never allow them to take the place of traditional fuel cars. I, who come from an oil-producing country, find it difficult! As for the acquisition of this type of electric cars I have read that it is very expensive, at least the battery. Similarly, I think we live in a world where everyone wants to move as fast as possible, and the power of these vehicles is limited precisely because they are very light. It will dawn and we will see, the saying goes. It's always good to know the latest technology. Thanks to you and @adsactly.
Yes @nancybriti! Velimir and I both enjoy cool motorcycles / motorbikes, I believe that is an interest we have in common. Oil is a nasty addiction that humanity has allowed to creep into daily lives. We pump it out of the ground without much understanding of the value it may have from staying underground. We burn it and pollute our skies all because we are told that it is the best, most abundant source of energy. I'm going out on a limb and just going to say that the oil industry along with every other syndicate resembling it have an interest in keeping us dependent. That is how they maintain order and stay on top. Lets hope one day as a people we can affect change and see that is no longer the case. Thanks for your thoughts as always.
It would be great to find an abundant, accessible, clean source of energy, and there is no reason not to devote to it intelligence and ... energy. But imagine that we do not find it, or in any case, that we can not develop and industrialize it in time?
It seems at least prudent to foresee the case where the miracle does not take place, right?
One could even say that, in certain circles of which you are obviously not part, the announcement (constant, it's been 15 years since I hear it) of these future sources of inexhaustible energy and without negative externalities, serves to delay even prevent any serious attempt to change the development model. Since technology will finally save us, why bother?
But as time goes by, the miracle solution remains a promise that is constantly being postponed, programs are breaking new records every year and therefore, it does not seem foolish to plan some plans B, C, D ...
Absolutely. My only fear is that it already exists and has been kept from humanity by powers that would rather control us, selling us what we could have for free if circumstances were different. And destroying the planet as a consequence of their actions... Perhaps I just think the worst, who knows?
@techblogger well i feel that these new sets of automobile are great innovations and invention giving the fact it has concerns for the environment, an expert in environmental impact assessment i will say its a welcome development giving the fact that fossil fuels contributes a lot damages in terms of polluting the air, which is not good for our health as human.
The sustainable development goals aims at providing sustainable environmental practice in under to reduce the environmental pollution, its a high and yes vote for me.
Nice post, I'd love to read more on it.
I'm doing a solar project on my cottage, i wanna be completely self sustainable off grid. No more fuel!
That is a fantastic goal right there! I hope to be in the same boat in the not too distant future (boat being metaphorical for a house off the grid).
Science every day develops and I expect many scientists
Really something amazing and wonderful
Electric cars are a very, very promising type of vehicle, for which the future. But!
From history it is known that the electric car is not the technology of the future, it is from the past. This may seem surprising, but automobiles on an electric motor preceded automobiles with an internal combustion engine. The driving force of electrical energy began to be used on vehicles in 1812, when the Slovak-Hungarian priest Anjos Dzhedlik built the first crude but viable electric motor and put it in a tiny car. A few years later, in 1935, Professor Sibrandus Stratingh from the Netherlands built a small electric car, and Robert Anderson from Scotland was an electric locomotive. Moreover, in 1838, the electric locomotive of Robert Davidson “raced” with a speed of 4 miles per hour or 6 km per hour.
In 1940, in England, a patent was issued on the use of rails as a conductor of electricity. Electromotive engines were used to transport coal from mines, so as not to burn precious oxygen when using a conventional engine. The rapid electrification of railways in Switzerland was caused by the lack of fossil resources there. In 1900, 28% of cars on US roads were electric. They became so popular that President Wilson and his undercover agents toured Washington on electric cars.
A number of events contributed to the decline of electric vehicles. This is the cost of improving a large pavement area, as well as the discovery of large oil reserves in Texas, Oklahoma and California, which led to the easy availability of gasoline, making cars on internal combustion engines cheaper, more profitable. Electric cars of those times could not compete with a lighter and more powerful, more passable cars on internal combustion engines.
Until humanity has reached the required level of development in order to massively produce inexpensive, affordable and high-quality electric cars. Thus, over the years, and perhaps decades, electric cars are indeed capable of completely displacing machines with internal combustion engines. Moreover, for now, this is, if not utopia, then just a developing industry.
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There Has been a lot of unnecessary buzz about techno Innovations of Late. This Electic Automobiles been just Another of the Myriads!!
Yes! Unnecessary buzz because Energy which is being Converted from a Form to Another has Never Been a new Wheel being Invented.
Are The much Worshipped Electric Automobiles not Driven By Electricity Generated by Other Energy Sources; Perharps from Fossil Fuel???
Yes! Electricity Could Be Derived From Wind and Atoms. but have We Pondered ever How those Energies were Harnessed , vis a vis How the Technology and Equipments for their Generation Were Sourced??
Nature is of Different Components, capable of Changing Forms, Yet ONE.
The More We Acknowledge This the Less We Will Celebrate the Ordinary
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Science every day develops and I expect many scientists
Amazing Post! Renewable Energy has many advantages, it's clean and safe! I do have Solar Panels for my greenhouse and it really is a source of energy throughout the year!