| 777 | Date: Saturday, 30 Oct 2010, 14.20 | Message # 1 |
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| For decades, the world has been wondering what comes next after the era of gasoline. And since 1998, a global convocation of scientists, politicians, transportation companies and journalists have gathered somewhere in the world for the Challenge Bibendum, a sort of green-car congress that poses the question, "What does sustainable mobility mean?"
This year's Bibendum, which was held in Rio De Janeiro, was the first since 2007, when a third of the global transportation market's sales were swept away by the global financial meltdown.
A good example of the latest green innovations and initiatives being discussed at the Bibendum is Michelin’s Active Wheel. Much more than just a tire, the Active Wheel integrates an electric motor, electronic suspension and regenerative braking within the wheel unit itself.
In-wheel motors may become the preferred method for powering electric vehicles, and they lead to some key advantages. First, building these components into a car’s wheels does away with the need for a central motor, a transmission or a typical suspension system and shocks, all of which serves to reduce vehicle weight.
Performancewise, individually controlled wheels can be more agile and responsive and able to stop a car incredibly fast. Because the suspension is electronic rather than mechanical, the car can also be stabilized more accurately. Cars with in-wheel motors may also be safer because of their improved maneuverability, and the fact that the space under the hood no longer houses the engine, which leaves room for impact-absorption technology.
Michelin, the company that coordinates the event, paraded two cars equipped with Active Wheel technology at this year’s Bibendum. Although Michelin doesn’t sell cars, it teamed up with two of its partner companies and built a concept vehicle it calls Will. The compact electric Will uses Active Wheel systems in the front and rear, giving it individually controlled all-wheel drive.
Michelin also collaborated with the French automaker Peugeot to create the BB1, an insectlike EV concept with a carbon-fiber body and a motorcyclelike driver interface. Individual batteries under the driver and passenger seats of the BB1 power two Active Wheel motors on the car’s rear axle.
In-wheel motors for electric cars have been demonstrated by Volvo
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