European Electric Vehicle Leader Visits Ohio State Engineering

Posing with the shell of the Buckeye Bullet 2 are (clockwise from lower left) Gildo Pastor of Venturi Automobiles; College of Engineering Interim Dean Gregory Washington; Nicholas Mauduit of Venturi; Ed Hillstrom, Buckeye Bullet 2 team member; Center for Automotive Research Director Giorgio Rizzoni; and Buckeye Bullet 2 team leader David Cooke. (Photo by John Neal, CAR)The future of electric vehicles, with the promise of reducing pollution as well as U.S. reliance on foreign oil, depends on both automotive technology advancements and the willingness of consumers to make the conversion, says a European leader in the industry.

Gildo Pastor, CEO and owner of French electric vehicle manufacturer Venturi Automobiles, is visiting Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research this week to discuss new partnerships.

Pastor last year announced Venturi’s support of the Ohio State’s Buckeye Bullet team, which in September set an international speed record of 302.877 mph with its hydrogen fuel cell powered landspeed steamliner racer. Venturi will lend its 10-year expertise in electric vehicles and significant sponsorship funding to the student team.

“The partnership with Venturi will provide an exciting opportunity to bring together Ohio State’s vast experience and knowledge in electric racing with Venturi’s cutting edge electric vehicle technology,” says David Cooke, a senior in mechanical engineering who is the Buckeye Bullet 2 team leader. “The team will continue its quest to push the limits of electric landspeed racing with the next generation of the program, a lithium ion battery powered vehicle. The vehicle will be designed to exceed the record speeds of both the Buckeye Bullet 1 and Buckeye Bullet 2.”

Pastor is optimistic about the worldwide future of electric vehicles. His company is now in production of 1,500 electric delivery vehicles for a French manufacturer. Most of the 1,500 are already sold to the French postal service, he says.

Challenges to a transition to electric vehicles, he says, include government politics, automotive industry technology and consumer reaction.

“The ideal city, a clean city, is an aspect in Europe that is very important,” Pastor says. “In Europe they are very concerned about the quality of air. It’s higher than your concern here about oil dependency.”

Already many major European cities are implementing policies to limit city-center transportation to electric vehicles, he explains.

“There is a tremendous worldwide push toward electrical vehicles, with industrial competition where the U.S. is a key player, the Chinese are another key player, and Europe is also pushing very hard,” he says. “It’s a terrible trauma for the automotive industry, because it’s a real change of process. They have been doing internal combustion engines for 100 years. This is a change of technology.”

In addition, he says, electric vehicle manufacturers will have to convince the public of the benefits of this new mode of transportation. Venturi, he says, tested the postal vehicles for about three years before producing them.

“You can’t tell people one morning, ‘You’re obliged to have an electric vehicle.’ They have to desire it,” he says. “We have to prove it works and take away their fears of not being able to charge their vehicles when they need to.”

Venturi’s efforts to prove the viability of electric vehicles include lending support to the Buckeye Bullet.

“The Buckeye Bullet, it’s a fantastic showcase. It’s a chance to develop new things and to push limits,” he says. “Efficiency is as useful for the speed record as it is for the everyday car.”

In May, Venturi is launching a Shanghai-to-Paris road trip with a battery-operated car driven by two French university professors who have no electric vehicle experience. Pastor expects the 8,300-mile trip through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and finally France to establish a new distance record for electric production models, to prove that the infrastructure for recharging already exists and to show that the general public, not just electric vehicle experts, can successfully operate electric vehicles. The car, which has a 72-kw, 300-mile range, will make 100 stops along the way to showcase its capabilities.

Finally, this November Venturi will transport an electric vehicle to Antarctica to prove that the technology can withstand harsh conditions. Solar power can provide electricity for vehicles in Antarctica for half the year, Pastor contends; wind power also makes electric vehicles possible.

“This car is in development,” Pastor says. “There is still more work to do. We want the car to perform to minus 50 degrees Celsius; we’re now at minus 30.”

“I’m quite positive that the coming change toward electric vehicles is large, and you can’t stop it at this point,” Pastor says. “I think it will just take time for industry to be fully ready.”

More information:
As a result of a close technological collaboration between Venturi Automobiles and Michelin, the Venturi Volage concept car is on display now through Jan. 24 in at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Read about other global connections of the College of Engineering in the latest edition of News in Engineering.