The ever-spiralling cost of fuel is one that is a major worry for many grey nomads as they pursue their dream lifestyle.
The thought of travelling Australia without having to put fuel in the tank then is one that has sent many budget-minded travellers to sleep with a smile on their faces. But, for once, the march of technology has apparently failed to keep pace with the desires of the travelling public.
While scientific journals may regularly proclaim new breakthroughs in protoype solar-powered  vehicles or  another step forward in electric car capabilities, there is precious little evidence of these  technological marvels actually making their presence felt on the Big Lap.
However, grey nomads who shed a near daily tear as they pump another hundred dollars or so into their thirsty vehicle’s belly should not despair quite yet.
The electric car may have generally been limited to city use because of the relatively short distances a charged battery can take it, and the long re-charging times … but the dream of a long distance electric vehicle trip still flickers.
In North America, Sun Country Highway (SCH) has just opened an extension of its network of charging stations to cover the length of Highway 401 between Detroit and Montréal. The new stations join the company’s existing corridor of free Level 2 charging stations lining the Trans-Canada Highway.
Electric-car drivers will have 17 stations to get them between Montréal in Canada and Detroit in the US state of Michigan, and they are set between 50km and 100km apart.
The 401 corridor will benefit electric-car drivers in both Ontario and Quebec who were previously ‘city-locked’ by a limited, urban-centric charging infrastructure. SCH partnered with municipal governments and local businesses and organisations to install the stations and provide electricity at each location.
“The 401 Highway is the busiest highway in North America,” SCH president Kent Rathwell told the Globe and Mail newspaper. Â “And now business travellers and eco-tourists have the option to travel emission-free – a huge step toward a more sustainable future.”
Currently, all of SCH’s 240-volt Level 2 charging stations are free to use. SCH says it offers charging stations that run at up to 100 amps, future-proofing them to some degree for cars that could benefit from charging at higher currents.
That said, these stations still take a few hours to recharge the battery pack of a typical electric car like the Nissan Leaf.
A 2013 Leaf with the new 6.6-kilowatt charger can recharge completely in 3 to 4 hours at a Level 2 charging station – versus half an hour for an 80% recharge at a much more expensive (and rarer) DC quick-charging station.
Are you holding your breath for the arrival of electric car charging stations along the length of the Birdsville Track and the Gibb River Road? If ‘fuel’ was free, how would you spend the extra cash while travelling? Comment below.
Are they ever going to make 4wd’s electric? Will electricity be powerful enough to tow a 3 ton caravan?
Electricity is already powerful enough to haul huge iron ore trains.
Whilst oil based fuel is available from oil companies, we will not see any new technology as the oil companies buy them up to ensure we have to keep using their fuel. Try the orbital engine. Massive reduction in fuel costs but …………………
Forget about the orbital, solar, electric engines…..the Australian developed ‘Pritchard’ steam engine had it all…..Power,size,economy,
maintenance etc. It was perfected to such an extent that the oil/motor industry killed it off.
I agree with Rob, what’s the point of speculating about something that will be of little interest to those towing a van around the country. These little electric cars struggle to keep themselves going and look at what happened in the solar challenge when the failed to cope with a cross wind. Don’t think we’ll much relief from the high fuel costs in my lifetime.
Once upon a time a trip to the moon was a dream so i guess powerful electric vehicles with lots of solar and land based charging is just around the corner…. unfortunately not for us current grey nomads..:)
They use electricity for most of the big mine trains. They just hook up a huge diesel motor to run the generator and bingo.
If you understand the theory of relitivity then the power in one single electron can send your 3 ton van around the plannet a few fimes.. So yes electric cars have potential as well as trapping the hydrogen released in a sla and re converting it.. To put it simply a hyrdogen cell the size of a breif case will propel a motor with similar oytput to a 6 plys ltr turbo deisel in excess of 20000k.. Albert Einsrien once carved in to the corner of his desk.All creation awaits for the revealing thru the hands of the sons of man.. The answers are already here we just have to see them.. put it another way.. Man who shoot at nothing shure to hit it..
all we need is the person with a fat wallet, and a big dream, I dont see them here in Oz,
I am going to sail around it, Very Cheaply,
How long before rv’s become all terrain accessible with all wheels driven by hub mounted electric motors and a small petrol/diesel motor to take over when battery or solar is out. Soon hopefully, the technology is there already but costs have to come down and designers need to be given the nod to build and trial a prototype