Electric vehicle enthusiasts go around the world in 80 (zero emission) days

Around The World In 80 Days With Zero Emissions.With the quest to increase the capacity of battery powered vehicles, a group of enthusiasts from Australia, Germany, and Switzerland have set off in their battery powered vehicles on what’s being billed as the “longest and greenest” round-the-world drive to promote emissions-free transport and November’s world climate conference.

The UN-supported “Zero Race” has been organized by a Swiss Louis Palmer, who made headlines with his 18-month pioneering world tour

in a solar-powered “taxi” two years ago, picking up celebrities on the way.

Palmer said: “With this race we want to show that seven billion people on this planet need renewable energy and clean mobility. Petrol is running out and the climate crisis is coming, and we are all running against time.”

A Korean vehicle failed to reach the start line at the United Nations in Geneva in time after it broke down with “a minor battery problem” about 60km up the road, Palmer said, but would join the other three teams later in the day.

The Zero Race team is set to stop off at the World Climate Conference in Cancun, Mexico, after touring through Europe, Russia, China, Canada, and the United States before heading back to Geneva in January 2011.

Four electric vehicles powered solely by renewable energy offsets departed from Geneva today on an 80-day race around the world. Though they’re sure to encounter adventure, this trip is less about Jules Verne and more about joules and volts.

The Zero Race is the brainchild of Louis Palmer, founder of the SolarTaxi project and the first man to circumnavigate the globe in a solar-powered vehicle. It pits teams from Australia, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland against each other in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. The competition is real, but the true goal of the event is to demonstrate the viability of EVs and renewable energy production.

LeMans this is not. According to Team Trev from Australia, each day of the race will consist of morning and afternoon media events and a longer stop to promote green energy — plus around 310 miles of driving, some of it done by team sponsors who have made donations in exchange for some time behind the wheel.

The contestants have each created their own EVs. With the exception of team Vectrix, whose iconic electric motorbike is among the participants, all the vehicles are enclosed.

Because the teams will likely be plugging in to outlets fed by coal-fired power plants, each team has arranged a sponsorship with a sustainable energy producer who offsets the dirty electricity with a cleaner alternative. For instance, the South Korean team is greened-over by a set of solar panels 200 miles south of Seoul, while windmills turn in Australia to offset Team Trev.

As the teams make their way across Europe, Asia and North America, you can follow them on the Zero Race blog or while away an entire day watching their progress on a real-time map. We’ll keep you updated on each of the teams and bring you more in-depth team profiles as the race unfolds.

Photos: Zero Race. Pictured is the Zerotracer, the entrant of the Orlikon Solar Team from Winterthur, Switzerland.