As sales for electric cars increase in a bid to turn away from the world’s dependence on fossil fuels, one inventor has come up with a way to make this a lot more convenient, accessible and affordable.
Former Royal Navy officer turned inventor, Trevor Jackson, has developed an incredible electric car battery that lasts for 1,500 miles – four times the capability of the industry’s top model.
Thanks to his innovation, the British engineer has landed a multi-million-pound deal to start manufacturing the device on a large scale in the UK, reports the Daily Mail.
Not only can the battery power an electric car on a scale not possible before now, but it can also be used to run buses, lorries and even planes.
As a result of the new deal, Essex-based engineering firm Austin Electric will start to put thousands of these incredible power sources into their vehicles starting from next year.
The company’s chief executive, Danny Corcoran, told Daily Mail: “It can help trigger the next industrial revolution. The advantages over traditional electric vehicle batteries are enormous.”
Though things are looking good for the inventor right now, Jackson explained to the publication that it has not been an easy ride to get to this point.
In fact, the engineer and his company Metalectrique Ltd came up with the innovation over a decade ago, but they have faced continued resistance from the traditional automobile industry.
He even claims motor manufacturers lobbied to the Foreign Office to have him and his invention banned from official events aimed to discuss the potential for electric cars in the future.
However, they were unsuccessful and Jackson has since landed the Austin deal, as well as another £108,000 ($140,237) grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre, a partner of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
“It has been a tough battle but I’m finally making progress. From every logical standpoint, this is the way to go,” he added.
For those wondering how the whole thing works, the married father-of-eight started to study the capability of producing electricity by dipping aluminium into a chemical solution known as an electrolyte.
Although this was first discovered in the ’60s, the problem was that the electrolyte was, up until this point, highly dangerous and poisonous.
This is where the inventor came in, as he managed to create a safe and non-caustic solution. “I’ve drunk it when demonstrating it to investors, so I can attest to the fact that it’s harmless,” he added.
Now that he’s landed a deal with Austin, the future is looking a lot greener, as the partnership involves a number of actions to roll out in the coming months.
One of those includes plans to manufacture some electric tuk-tuks for the Asian market, as well as affordable and long-lasting electric bikes.
And, most significantly, the company is to introduce conversion kits to turn ordinary petrol- or diesel-run cars into hybrids. These will cost £3,500 (£4,544) and will be made available from next year.
Corcoran concluded: “If you want to do something about the environment, you can. You can do it now, with this product.”
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